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Rishi Sunak set to approve Boris Johnson's honours list

Mr Sunak poised to accept the list within weeks - Getty Images North America
Mr Sunak poised to accept the list within weeks - Getty Images North America

Rishi Sunak faces two crunch by-elections against Labour later this year as he prepares to sign off on Boris Johnson’s honours list.

The Prime Minister will give the green light to the list drawn up by his predecessor within the next few weeks, The Times reported.

Mr Johnson is poised to hand peerages to Nadine Dorries, his former culture secretary, and Alok Sharma, the ex COP26 President.

The pair are expected to stand down to take their places in the Lords before the next election triggering by-elections in the autumn.

Mr Sharma has been the MP for Reading West since 2010 but sits on a slim 4,117 majority, with his seat a key target for Sir Keir Starmer.

Mid-Bedfordshire, represented by Ms Dorries since 2005, is a safer constituency but could still be vulnerable in the event of a Labour landslide.

Mr Johnson initially put forward two other allies, former minister Nigel Adams and current Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, on his list.

The original plan was for the quartet to continue as MPs until the next election and then take up their seats in the upper chamber.

But the House of Lords appointment commission, which vets peerages, has said they should stand down when they accept their honours.

It advised the Cabinet Office that it would be “constitutionally improper” for the four to wait out their mandates in the Commons.

Mr Adams has previously described suggestions he would resign as “utter bollocks”, with The Times reporting Mr Jack will also stay in the Commons.

The approval of Mr Johnson’s honours list has been delayed, something which has reportedly caused tension between him and Mr Sunak.

There had even been suggestions No 10 might block the list entirely, but Mr Sunak is said to have accepted that outgoing prime ministers are entitled to make appointments.