The Prime Minister's Resignation Honours have been gazetted in The Gazette since 1895. Following the publishing of Liz Truss's list, we take a look at the history of Resignation Honours.

What are Prime Minister's Resignation Honours?

The Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are honours granted at the behest of an outgoing UK Prime Minister following his/her resignation. In such a list, a Prime Minister may request the reigning monarch to grant peerages, knighthoods, damehoods or other awards in the British honours system to any number of people.

Though some have chosen not to (for various reasons), all departing Prime Ministers can draw up a Resignation Honours list, which is then sent to the Cabinet Office for 'probity and propriety checks'. In the case of peerages, the House of Lords Appointments Commission vets the list. Often, but not always, Downing Street staff, political aides and Members of Parliament are rewarded through Resignation Honours.

Resignation Honours should not be confused with Dissolution Honours, which are a list of people nominated to receive honours after the Dissolution of Parliament prior to a general election.

When were the first Prime Minister's Resignation Honours?

The first Prime Minister's Resignation Honours list was announced in the British press on 1 July 1895 following the resignation of Lord Rosebery on 22 June. The appointments to the Order of the Bath appeared officially in The Gazette (Gazette issue 26639) on 2 July 1895.

Why are Prime Minister's Resignation Honours sometimes controversial?

Some Prime Minister's Resignation Honours lists have been met by controversy. The 1976 Resignation Honours list of Harold Wilson (Gazette issue 46916), in particular, drew much criticism. Known satirically as the 'Lavender List', Wilson gave peerages and knighthoods to various wealthy businessmen who, according to some, shared contrary political principles to Wilson and his Labour Party.

More recently, the 'Cash for Honours' scandal (which surfaced after several men nominated for life peerages by Tony Blair in 2006 were rejected by the House of Lords Appointments Commission) meant that Tony Blair did not submit a Resignation Honours list in 2007. Gordon Brown also did not publish a Resignation Honours list, though a dissolution list was issued on his advice (Gazette issue 59459).

Following his resignation as Prime Minister, David Cameron revived the practice of Resignation Honours by publishing his own in The Gazette (Gazette issue 61678) on 16 August 2016. His successor, Theresa May, followed suit with a list officially published in The Gazette in October 2019 (Gazette issue 62807). 

Full list of Prime Minister's Resignation Honours

The Gazette has published all Prime Minister's Resignation Honours lists in supplements since 1895:

• 1895 Lord Rosebery (Gazette issue 26639)
• 1905 Arthur Balfour (Gazette issue 27865)
• 1916 HH Asquith (Gazette issue 29886)
• 1924 Stanley Baldwin (Gazette issue 32906)
• 1945 Winston Churchill (Gazette issue 37227)
• 1951 Clement Attlee (Gazette issue 39396)
• 1963 Harold Macmillan (Gazette issue 43136)
• 1964 Alec Douglas-Home (Gazette issue 43502)
• 1970 Harold Wilson (Gazette issue 45165)
• 1976 Harold Wilson (Gazette issue 46916)
• 1990 Margaret Thatcher (Gazette issue 52371)
• 1997 John Major (Gazette issue 54850 and Gazette issue 54851)
• 2016 David Cameron (Gazette issue 61678)
• 2019 Theresa May (Gazette issue 62807)
• 2022 Boris Johnson (Gazette issue 64120)
• 2023 Liz Truss (Gazette issue 64309)

See also

What is the difference between a CBE, OBE, MBE and a knighthood?

Birthday and New Year honours lists (1940 to 2019)

Birthday and New Year honours lists (1860 to 1939)

Images 

Getty Images

Publication updated

7 February 2024

Any opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and the author alone, and does not necessarily represent that of The Gazette.