Cost of restoring Parliament could soar to £12bn if MPs will not relocate telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
| UPDATED: 11:07, Sun, Feb 14, 2021
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The House of Lords has now ballooned to accommodate around 830 peers with only the Chinese Parliament and Congress having a larger unelected legislative body. Peers appointed this year include Scottish Tory MSP Ruth Davidson, Brexiteer former MEP Daniel Hannan, and the chairman of Sir Keir Starmer s leadership campaign Jennifer Chapman.
Boris Johnson was embroiled in another cronyism row last night after he overruled his advisers to hand a peerage to a controversial Tory donor.
The Prime Minister decided to ennoble City tycoon Peter Cruddas despite a recommendation from the House of Lords Appointments Commission that he should be turned down.
It advised against the honour because Mr Cruddas resigned as Conservative co-treasurer in 2012 after it was claimed he offered access to then PM David Cameron and his chancellor George Osborne in return for donations.
It is believed he has been turned down numerous times before. Mr Cruddas, 67, donated £50,000 to Mr Johnson s Tory leadership campaign last year and has given £3million to the Conservatives since 2007.