Theresa May snubs arch-enemy George Osborne by refusing to offer him a Lords peerage
The PM has broken 50 years of tradition by not offering former Chancellor of the Exchequer a seat in the House of Lords
THERESA May has snubbed arch-enemy George Osborne by refusing to offer him a peerage.
It means he will be the first ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer in at least five decades not to be invited to sit in the Lords.
All senior Cabinet members are offered the chance to become peers when they leave the Commons, with ex-Treasury chiefs top of the list.
But The Sun can reveal that the PM has broken with years of precedent to leave her nemesis Mr Osborne off her new list of nominations for the upper house, and not even sound him out for one.
The public snub continues the pair’s extraordinary feud after Mrs May sacked Mr Osborne from the Cabinet as her very first act in No10 in July 2016.
Friends of the Evening Standard editor have told The Sun he doesn’t want a peerage, and “never asked” for one either.
But as The Sun revealed last week, the two other former Cabinet ministers who also stepped down as MPs at the general election last year – Sir Eric Pickles and Peter Lilley – are being made lords.
A senior former minister who never even made to the Cabinet is also on list, former Solicitor General Edward Garnier.
With tongue firmly in cheek, a Downing Street source said: “George Osborne did a great job as Chancellor clearing up the mess left by Labour.
“He chose to stand down at the election, and is much missed, but is clearly managing to fill his time in a number of other ways.”
The snub will be seen as the PM’s revenge for six months of bitter barbs at her from Mr Osborne.
The 46-year-old – who has not ruled out a return to the Commons one day – infuriated Mrs May with a series of withering attacks on her via his London newspaper’s editorials.
He also caused uproar among Tories by telling senior staff on the paper that he will not rest until Mrs May is “chopped up in bags in my freezer”.
Only three former Chancellors didn’t end up going to the House of Lords in the last 50 years.
Two are ex-PMs who turned down peerages – Sir John Major and Gordon Brown.
The third is veteran Tory Ken Clarke, who is still an MP.
The list of 10 new Tory and three Labour peers was sent to the Lords Appointment Commission to be rubber stamped this week.
It will be formally announced by the end of January.