The Prime Minister's Resignation Honours in the United Kingdom are honours granted at the behest of an outgoing Prime Minister following his or her resignation. In such a list, a Prime Minister may ask the monarch to bestow peerages, or other lesser honours, on any number of people of his or her choosing. A recent change, however, involves oversight by a parliamentary scrutiny committee, to ensure that the honours are appropriate.[1][2]
The publication of resignation honours may also be used as the occasion for the granting of other political honours, as in the 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours when an additional 47 working peers were created at the behest of the three main parties.
Some previous lists have attracted criticism, for example the 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours of Harold Wilson (which became known as the "Lavender List"), which caused controversy as a number of recipients were wealthy businessmen whose principles were considered antipathetic to those held by the Labour Party at the time.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair did not issue a list, apparently because of the "Cash for Honours" scandal.[3]. Gordon Brown did not publish a resignation honours list[4][5], although a dissolution list was issued on his advice (to similar effect).
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