Liz Truss urged to refuse the right to hand out honours and claim £115,000 a year

Liz Truss has been urged not to deliver a resignation honours list after spending just six weeks as prime minister.

Her list could include honours for members of her short-lived and discredited cabinet, aides and donors.

Opposition politicians yesterday said any recognition from a prime minister who lasted only 44 days in office would discredit the honours system, squander taxpayer cash and reward her “co-conspirators”.

Meanwhile, she has also been urged not to claim the annual £115,000 office allowance for life that former prime ministers are entitled to.

The Scottish Greens said a resignation honours list would show how “broken, corrupt and unfit for purpose” the system was.

Central Scotland MSP Gillian Mackay said: “Liz Truss was the worst and least successful prime minister in modern history. The idea of a disastrous leader who lasted weeks and crashed the economy ennobling people for life is beyond farcical. It would underline how broken, corrupt and unfit for purpose the whole archaic system is.

“Nobody should ever be given an unelected seat as a legislator under any circumstances, let alone the donors and cronies that usually fill these shameful lists.

“We can become a modern, democratic and independent nation in Europe, one that practices transparency and accountability, rather than staying tied to this tired and discredited Westminster system.”

No names have been confirmed but Mark Fulbrook, Truss’s chief of staff, is reportedly in line for an honour. Truss may also reward Kwasi Kwarteng, who she was forced to sack as chancellor last week.

Edinburgh east SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said: “This just speaks to how corrupt the Westminster system is.

“That a failed prime minister, who in just 44 days crashed the economy and caused untold chaos, can reward her supporters and pals with peerages is an absolute disgrace.

“What’s worse is the hefty payout Truss and her ministers are set to receive, a kick in the teeth for all those struggling households her government refused to support through a cost of living crisis of their making.

“They should refuse it after taking a sledgehammer to the economy. The idea that Westminster is a functioning democratic parliament is laughable now, with yet another prime minister set to be chosen by a select few Conservative members while the last one commits to increasing the size of the already bloated unelected House of Lords.”

© Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The news comes as Westminster waits for Boris Johnson’s resignation honours, which have still not been published.

Sir Keir Starmer has also demanded Truss decline the allowance of up to £115,000 a year she will be entitled to as a former prime minister.

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “The resignation honours list would mean handing out more expensive gongs to Conservative allies, some of whom helped plunge the country into crisis.

“After trashing the economy and leaving millions in misery, it would be a truly remarkable way to reward the shortest tenure as prime minister in British political history.

“It’s a huge waste of taxpayer money and a stunning lack of humility.”

A Labour party spokesman said: “It would be totally wrong for a for a prime minister who crashed the economy and shredded the country’s reputation to then reward her co-conspirators in this Tory chaos with honours.”