1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours

The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to the "London Gazette" of 1 August 1997 (published 2 August 1997) and marked the May 1997 resignation of Prime Minister John Major. [LondonGazette|issue=54850|supp=yes|startpage=8911|endpage=8914|date=2 August 1997|accessdate=2008-02-27
LondonGazette|issue=54851|supp=yes|startpage=8909|endpage=8910|date=2 August 1997|accessdate=2008-02-27]

A notable omission from the list was Norman Lamont, who was overlooked for a life peerage in what was seen as a snub for the former Chancellor of the Exchequer who had become one of Major's most prominent critics. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1997/08/02/nhons02.html Daily Telegraph: "Major snubs Lamont in honours list"] .]

Included in the announced list were new "working peers": 31 new Labour life peers recommended by Tony Blair to reduce the Tory majority; Paddy Ashdown, the Liberal Democrat leader, recommended 11 new Liberal Democrat life peers; five were recommended by William Hague, the Conservative leader.

The recipients of the major classes of honours are displayed below, as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour.

Life Peerages

*Norman Blackwell, former head of policy unit in the Prime Minister's office
*Dame Janet Fookes, former Deputy Speaker and former MP for Plymouth Drake
*Roger Freeman, former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
*Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, former Scottish Office minister
*Sir Terence Higgins, former Treasury minister
*David Hunt, former secretary of state for Wales, and for employment, former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
*Dame Jill Knight, former MP for Birmingham Edgbaston and former vice-chair of 1922 Committee
*Ian Lang, former Scottish secretary and President of the Board of Trade
*Tony Newton, former social security secretary and former Leader of the Commons
*Sir Cranley Onslow, former chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee

Conservative "working peers"

*Sir John Cope, former deputy Tory Party chairman.
*Tristan Garel-Jones, former Foreign Office minister and former deputy chief whip
*Sir Hector Monro, former Scottish Office and Environment Minister
*Michael Morris, former Commons Deputy Speaker
*Sir Wyn Roberts, former Welsh Office minister

Labour "working peers"

*Valerie Amos, director Amos Fraser Bernard
*Steven Bassam, head of environmental health and consumer issues at the Local Government Association.
*Clive Brooke, joint general secretary, Public Services Tax and Commerce Union
*Tom Burlison, deputy general secretary of the GMB and Labour Party treasurer
*Bryan Davies, former secretary to the Parliamentary Labour Party
*David Davies CBE, general secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
*James Gordon CBE, chairman, Scottish Radio Holdings plc
*Peter Hardy, former Labour MP for Wentworth
*Norman Hogg, former Deputy Chief Whip 1983 to 1987
*Robert Hughes, former Labour spokesman on agriculture and transport
*Roy Hughes, former Labour spokesman on Welsh Affairs, former member of the Council of Europe
*Philip Hunt OBE, chief executive, National Health Service Confederation
*Greville Janner QC, former Labour MP for Leicester West, honorary vice- president of the World Jewish Congress
*Helena Kennedy QC
*Michael Levy, director of M and G Records, president of Jewish Care
*Michael Montague CBE, chairman of Superframe plc, chairman Montague Multinational Ltd, formerly chairman English Tourist Board
*Alf Morris, former Minister for the Disabled
*Stan Orme, former social security minister and Cabinet member (1977 to 1979), chairman Parliamentary Labour Party 1987 to 1992
*Jill Pitkeathley OBE, chief executive Carers National Association, member of the Health Advisory Service
*Sir David Puttnam CBE, film producer
*Stuart Randall, former Labour spokesman on agriculture and home affairs
*Ruth Rendell CBE, author
*Sir Robin Renwick KCMG, director Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd, chairman Save & Prosper Group, UK ambassador to South Africa from 1987 to 1991 and to USA from 1991 to 1995
*David Sainsbury, chairman and chief executive of J Sainsbury plc
*Patricia Scotland QC
*Barbara Scott Young, chief executive, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
*George Simpson, managing director of General Electric Company plc
*Andrew Stone, joint managing director, Marks and Spencer plc
*Terence Thomas CBE, managing director, Cooperative Bank
*Harold Walker, Baron Walker of Doncaster, former deputy speaker of the Commons
*Michael Watson, former Labour MP for Glasgow Central

Liberal Democrat "working peers"

*Navnit Dholakia OBE, member of the Lib Dem Federal Executive and Federal Policy Committee, member of the Police Complaints Authority
*Sir William Goodhart QC
*Sir Anthony Jacobs, vice-president Social and Liberal Democrats 1988, chairman Federal Executive, Social and Liberal Democrats
*Veronica Linklater, chairman The New School Butterstone, trustee Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust, trustee Cancer Care, Western General Hospital
*Sarah Ludford, barrister, Islington councillor, European Affairs consultant
*Diana Maddock, former Lib Dem MP for Christchurch
*Richard Newby OBE, director of the Matrix Communications Consultancy Ltd, Director of External Communication, Lib Dem general election team 1996-97
*Emma Nicholson, former Tory, then Lib Dem MP for Devon West and Torridge
*Timothy Razzall CBE, Lib Dem Richmond councillor, Lib Dem treasurer
*Sir Michael Sandberg CBE, former chairman of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1977 to 1986 and the British Bank of the Middle East from 1980 to 1986
*Sir Trevor Smith, vice chancellor and honorary professor, University of Ulster

Knight

*Robert Atkins, former Northern Ireland and environment minister
*Peter Brown, constituency agent to John Major
*Michael Forsyth, former Scottish Secretary
*Anthony Garrett CBE, director of the campaigning department at Conservative Central Office
*Brian Mawhinney, former Tory Party chairman, later shadow home secretary
*Richard Needham, former trade and industry minister
*Neville Trotter, former Conservative MP for Tynemouth
*John Ward, Parliamentary private secretary to John Major from 1994 to 1997

ee also

*1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
*1979 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
*1990 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours

References

ources

*"The Independent", 2 August 1997