Boris Johnson had already previously faced accusations of cronyism after nominating his brother Jo Johnson for a peerage in 2020.
Boris Johnson is being condemned after he nominated his father for a knighthood, reigniting debates about the outdated honours system.
Stanley Johnson has been put forward as part of the former Prime Minister’s resignation honours list. Boris Johnson had already previously faced accusations of cronyism after nominating his brother Jo Johnson for a peerage in 2020.
The Times reports that Johnson’s list of nominations, which is considerably longer than that of his predecessors David Cameron and Theresa May, will raise further accusations of cronyism.
Stanley Johnson has also previously been accused by Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist of touching them at Conservative party conferences.
Nokes, chairwoman of the Commons’ women and equalities committee, accused the Prime Minister’s father of forcefully smacking her on the bottom and making a vulgar comment at the Conservative party conference in 2003.
Stanley Johnson said after that he had “no recollection” of either incident.
Reports of his nomination for a knighthood have been condemned. Reacting to the news, Labour’s Wes Streeting told BBC Breakfast: “I can’t wait to see Boris Johnson’s honours list, I think there’s a reason why it’s being held up and I think it speaks to a pattern of Boris Johnson’s behaviour around cronyism.
“I couldn’t care less to be honest whether Stanley Johnson gets a knighthood, what I do find extraordinary is that there are still many Conservative MPs who to this day continue to defend Boris Johnson’s behaviour and that’s why Rishi Sunak finds the Conservative Party such an ungovernable, unleadable rabble. They’re deeply divided and they continue to defend the indefensible and it’s one of many reasons why it’s time for the Conservatives to have a spell in opposition.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 117 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.