Tees Valley Mayor: Ben Houchen defends peerage

A mayor has defended his peerage given by Boris Johnson and said his preferred title was not allowed.

The Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen was told 'Lord Houchen of Teesside' could not be used after being named in the former PM's honours list.

He said he would instead be known as 'Lord Houchen of High Leven', after the area close to where he grew up.

Some opposition MPs have criticised the honours list, but Mr Houchen said the process was "not just down to Boris".

Labour MP for Middlesbrough Andy McDonald said the appointments from a "discredited and dishonourable prime minister" were "as arrogant as it gets".

Meanwhile, Labour's Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham called for the list to be scrapped and said it was "completely wrong" to approve the honours.

An inquiry found Mr Johnson deliberately misled parliament and was complicit in a "campaign of abuse" against politicians investigating him.

However, Mr Houchen said he disagreed with calls to tear up the list.

He said: "Boris can make recommendations but there is a full vetting and review process that goes on. It's basically a six to nine-month process to vet.

"While the report was bad for him, it doesn't negate the recommendation of those people who were recommended."

Mr Johnson's attempts to get his father, Stanley Johnson, a peerage were rejected and the inclusion of four Conservative MPs, including Nadine Dorries, was vetoed by Rishi Sunak.

When asked again whether he thought the honours should stand in light of the report, Mr Houchen, who named his dog Boris, said: "I see no reason why they shouldn't. It's not just down to Boris it's down to a huge process."

The mayor said he was "reasonably close to Boris" and had "helped him a huge amount in Teesside".

Mr Houchen said he was on the list "because of my efforts towards the policy agenda for levelling up".

Newcastle Central Labour MP Chi Onwurah questioned whether he should be given a peerage while an investigation into claims of "corruption" at Teesworks is ongoing.

However, the Tory mayor said: "The only reason this investigation is happening is because I asked for it.

"The civil service said we have investigated this ourselves and been part of it for the last six years, there is no corruption. I want the investigation to clear our name, that's the only reason the government have done it."

Lords are not salaried, however, they can receive a £332 per day attendance allowance, plus travel expenses. Mr Houchen would not confirm if he would be claiming the cash saying he "hasn't thought about it", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The mayor said he would only be in the House of Lords if there was a specific reason.

"My primary role is the one I am democratically elected to deliver and that's the one in the Tees Valley. If they need me to go down and vote, I can if it's really important or I think it's the right thing to do.

"But there is little consequence to my decision not to conform to party policy. They can't get rid of me or deselect me [as a Lord]. And they're not going to deselect me from my role as mayor. It gives you a level of freedom to be able to represent the local area even in Parliament without having to worry about party politics."

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