Shaun Bailey’s nomination to House of Lords ‘slap in the face’ after partygate, says mayor of London

By Joe Talora, Local Democracy Reporter

Former Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey’s nomination to the House of Lords is a “slap in the face” of those who followed lockdown rules, Sadiq Khan has said.

A report in The Times on Monday revealed that Mr Khan’s 2021 London mayoral election rival was one of about 20 people included in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.

Last year, Mr Bailey was forced to step down from his role as chairman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee after pictures emerged of him attending a packed Christmas party in 2020 when household mixing was banned under lockdown rules.

Mr Bailey, who also previously worked as an advisor to David Cameron, later stepped down from his role as chairman of the London Assembly economy committee and did not appear at any Assembly meetings for several weeks as anger over “partygate” raged on.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said his former rival’s nomination for a peerage showed that “cronyism is alive and well in the Tory party”.

Mr Khan said: “I think it’s a slap in the face for all those who followed the rules [during lockdown].

“I think it’s a slap in the face for all those who died because of Covid. It’s a slap in the face for all those families who couldn’t grieve their loved ones because they followed the Covid rules, and all those families who couldn’t celebrate big birthdays and weddings because they followed the rules.”

The GLA Conservatives declined to comment on the matter.

Also included on the former Prime Minister’s resignation honours list are former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, MPs Alok Sharma, Alister Jack and Nigel Adams, as well as several former Downing Street aides.

Mr Johnson has reportedly asked the MPs included on his list to delay taking up their peerages to avoid triggering by-elections.

All names on the honours list will be subject to vetting by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Pictured top: Shaun Bailey (Picture: MichaelEdwardH/Wikimedia Commons)