Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen: Peerage links are 'news to me'

Ben Houchen says he was unaware of the links. Credit: TVCA

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen says reports he is being lined up for a seat in the House of Lords are "news to him".

Reports in The Times suggested he had been put forward for a peerage in Boris Johnson's resignation honours list.

However, the regionally elected mayor says he is unaware of the links and is instead focused on securing re-election in 2024.

Mr Houchen said: “This is news to me, as my focus - as ever - is on doing what I can to help the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool and I look forward to standing for re-election as Tees Valley Mayor in 2024.”

Ben Houchen became Tees Valley Combined Authority's first regionally elected mayor in 2017. The area covers Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.

Others named in The Times' report include former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, Alok Sharma, who presided over the Cop26 conference in Glasgow in 2021, and former Cabinet Office minister Nigel Adams.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP has faced calls from the opposition benches to reject the wishes of Boris Johnson.

Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner MP said: "This disgraced ex-prime minister's plot to dodge democracy by trying to reward his MP lackeys with promised jobs for life in the House of Lords yet again puts the Tory Party's interests before the public's.

"This underhand attempt to game the system by installing a conveyor belt of cronies and skewing Parliament in the Tories' favour for decades to come should never see the light of day. Rishi Sunak should make it clear in no uncertain terms that he will refuse to do Boris Johnson's bidding and reject his disreputable demands."

In response, the Prime Minister's official spokesperson said: "There's a long-standing convention that Prime Ministers do not seek to intervene in former prime ministers' resignation honours lists, that's been a case under successive governments.

"The Prime Minister is of the view that he will approach it as has been the case of successive governments."

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