Daniel Hannan will take a seat in the House of Lords – 11 peerless reactions
The government has released the Honours List for the New Year, revealing that the former Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, will finally get the peerage he was denied due to lack of space in the previous list, which was stuffed with Brexiters.
The list, however, is far from controversial, with the Lords’ Speaker taking to Twitter to complain that Boris Johnson would be installing 16 new peers, packing an already overfull upper house even further.
By my rough count Boris Johnson has now dished out 78 peerages since becoming PM. That's at least 30 more than Theresa May in three years as PM plus her resignation honours.
— Otto English (@Otto_English) December 22, 2020
Yet again, Nigel Farage missed out on an honour, except perhaps the honour of being known for being defeated at an election by a man dressed as a dolphin.
There were rumours that Nigel Farage would get a knighthood, but it was a misunderstanding. Someone was overheard to say, "Farage should have a white hood."
— paul bassett davies (@thewritertype) December 22, 2020
One contentious choice is Peter Cruddas – a Leave supporter and Tory donor who was involved in the cash for questions scandal and was rejected as a suitable candidate for a peerage by the independent body that scrutinises these decisions.
I'm giving Peter Cruddas a seat in the House of Lords for services to the country, including being on the board of Vote Leave, being caught in the 'cash for access' scandal in 2012 and giving over £3.5m to the Tories, including £50k to me last year. pic.twitter.com/N5gIRooVIe
— Parody Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson_MP) December 22, 2020
But the most discussed appointment was that of Daniel Hannan, one of the main voices and faces of Brexit.
Daniel Hannan get a peerage because it’s 2020 pic.twitter.com/xWFW2ZzGe4
— Henry Mance (@henrymance) December 22, 2020
Hannan has claimed, among other things:
The UK wouldn’t be leaving the Single Union
There’d be no lorry jams
That the upside of coronavirus was the return of the curtsy and the bow
Churchill wasn’t a racist because just look at Hitler
He also campaigned for the return of the blue passport, thought that the Windrush scandal proved that the system works, and was caught out trying to pass off photos taken from Google as his own.
Of particular relevance given the current situation, he wrote that coronavirus wouldn’t kill people.
Presumably, he’ll take the name Lord Hannan of Bad Takes.
Here’s what Twitter had to say about it.
1.
Daniel Hannan. A Peer. Just when I thought we had hit the bottom…
— Deborah Meaden (@DeborahMeaden) December 22, 2020
2.
Congratulations to Daniel Hannan on becoming a peer, no doubt for services to science and medicine. pic.twitter.com/lrFCD29sJZ
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) December 22, 2020
3.
Daniel ‘Coronavirus isn’t going to kill you’ Hannan’s peerage has been announced on the day that the UK’s death toll reached 68,307.
Seems to sum things up perfectly.— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) December 22, 2020
4.
Dan Hannan is absolutely shit faced, ringing everyone in his phone book calling himself The Erminator.
— Michael Govern Ready (@mikegove12) December 22, 2020
5.
You know how Trump filled the courts with unqualified judges and we all pointed & tutted? https://t.co/1WTVKytci1
— Nick Pettigrew (@Nick_Pettigrew) December 22, 2020
6.
The Conservatives have appointed Daniel Hannan to the House of Lords. Going to be awkward when he has to refuse so he’s not a huge hypocrite:https://t.co/Wb5LqF5HMZ pic.twitter.com/NLPv7OX6c1
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) December 22, 2020
7.
It would appear all you need to do to qualify for a peerage is to talk absolute tosh and be wrong about everything pic.twitter.com/xxRt5K8hY5
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) December 22, 2020
8.
We thought that Caligula had set the all-time benchmark when he made his horse a Consul.
And now along comes Johnson … with Daniel Hannan.
Beat that, if you can.
— Dr Simon Ubsdell (@SimonUbsdell) December 22, 2020
9.
'David Cameron is doing what Asquith threatened to do in 1910: de-legitimising the House of Lords by flooding it with inconsequential nobodies'
-Daniel Hannan 2015 via @ConHome-Daniel Hannan today accepted a place in the House of Lords
— Paul Johnson (@paul__johnson) December 22, 2020
10.
Lord Hannan? Remember when Daniel Hannah’s MEP group had to repay €539,000 they’d spaffed up the wall on jollies? Fun times. Fun times. Thank god this govt are sending our very best* to the Lords.
*bin juice— Emma Kennedy (@EmmaKennedy) December 22, 2020
11.
Bit surprised that Dan Hannan has been given a peerage. He isn't an IRA apologist and can't swing a cricket ball even in overcast conditions.
— Peter Smith (@Redpeter99) December 22, 2020
James O’Brien had this plausible explanation of yet more bad nominations from the PM.
All he's got left to give his base is stuff designed solely to enrage the other 'side'. We'll know things have reached rock bottom when he gives a peerage to Cummings…
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) December 22, 2020
If it weren’t for the whole ‘Princess Nut Nut’ thing, that probably would have just happened.
READ MORE
A 2016 article by Daniel Hannan seems like a devastating Brexit parody – but he was totally serious
Source Twitter Image Screengrab 1, Screengrab 2