Boris Johnson nominates Ruth Davidson for a seat in the Lords

The Edinburgh Central MSP stepped down in August after eight years in the role, just weeks after Johnson’s appointment as Prime Minister.

It was initially reported that Davidson was standing down due to personal reasons but it later emerged that this was only part of the reason and that her differences with Johnson over Brexit also played a part.

Davidson said she was furious with Johnson’s plans to prorogue Parliament. Now the former Scottish Tory leader is set to take her place in the House of Lords.

Davidson is due to step down as an MSP next year as Scotland goes to the polls in the Holyrood election.

READ MORE: Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson to become peer

The 41-year-old’s appointment to the Lords means she would be eligible for a position on Johnson’s Cabinet, although that seems unlikely.

Shortly after resigning as leader of the Scottish Tories, Davidson drew criticism by taking on a £50,000-a-year public relations job at international agency Tulchan and setting up her own firm, Kirkholm Broadlands, with partner Jen Wilson on top of her political day job. She later changed her mind about the Tulchan role.

Former chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond have also reportedly been nominated for peerages by Johnson – months after he kicked them out of the parliamentary Conservative Party.

The former Cabinet ministers stood down in last year’s General Election after they had the whip removed by the Prime Minister when they backed measures designed to block a no-deal Brexit. But the BBC reported that the pair could return to Parliament after being nominated by Johnson for seats in the House of Lords.

Clarke, who served as an MP for 49 years before stepping down at the end of last year, and Hammond declined to comment.

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Further reports stated that two former Labour MPs, Ian Austin and John Woodcock, have been nominated to sit as non-affiliated peers. Critics of Jeremy Corbyn, Austin and Woodcock quit Labour before stepping down as MPs at the election, urging voters to back the Tories instead in the December poll to stop Labour coming to power.

Johnson is understood to have nominated Tory donor and Brexit-backer Peter Cruddas for a peerage, too, after the City tycoon donated millions to the causes.

The former Tory Party treasurer has given more than £3.5 million to the Conservatives and donated more than £1.5m to the Vote Leave campaign, which he co-founded.

The spread betting tycoon said in 2018 he “was very disappointed with the Lords” for having “exceeded their authority” over trying to amend the Brexit Bill. Downing Street and the House of Lords Appointments Commission refused to comment on the report.

Former Commons speaker John Bercow has been put forward for a peerage by outgoing Labour leader Corbyn, but his nomination could be blocked amid allegations that he bullied staff. David Leakey, who served as Black Rod until 2018, said granting Bercow a peerage would be a “scandal that Parliament would struggle to live down”.

READ MORE: John Bercow under fire for naming staff without permission in memoir

The former speaker denies the allegations. Yesterday, he was rebuked by the House of Commons authorities for naming members of staff without their permission in his newly published autobiography.

A spokesman for the House said it was “unacceptable” for Bercow to identify current and former members of staff for “the purpose of financial gain or commercial success”.

A spokesman for Bercow defended his decision to name the staff members, stating: “He was advised by Speaker’s Counsel not to do so in detail while he was in office. He is therefore doing so now. If the book had not addressed these issues, he would rightly have been accused of serious omission.”

They added: “Critics are entitled to air their views. What they are not entitled to do is to make unfounded allegations and expect Bercow to say nothing in return.”