Rishi Sunak’s reported resignation honours list has drawn sharp criticism following suggestions it includes peerages for Michael Gove and Alister Jack.
The SNP has branded the move a final insult to Scotland from the outgoing Prime Minister.
SNP Deputy Leader Pete Wishart MP said it was a slap in the face for a nation still reeling from fourteen years of Conservative government.
He claimed both Gove and Jack are being rewarded with lifetime positions that lack accountability to the people.
He warned that the move reinforces public anger as unelected power continues to shape the future of Scotland.
Wishart also took aim at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him of duplicity over his party’s approach to the House of Lords.
He highlighted that Starmer had once promised to scrap the Lords, yet has since embraced it by handing a peerage to former civil servant Sue Gray.
Wishart said the Labour leader had also welcomed losing MPs back into politics through what he called the “unelected back door” of the House of Lords.
He said the peerage system is riddled with cronyism and no longer fit for purpose.
Both the Conservatives and Labour are now seen to benefit too much from the status quo to support any real reform.
The SNP, he said, remains committed to abolishing the House of Lords entirely.
Wishart argued that Scotland deserves a system built on democracy, not elitism.
He said it was no surprise that growing numbers of Scots are questioning the value of remaining tied to Westminster.
He described the UK Parliament as a broken institution that rewards loyalty over merit.
Wishart claimed the honours list shows that Westminster politics is designed to serve its own, not the people.
He insisted SNP MPs are the only ones who answer directly to the people of Scotland.
He said the Tories and Labour have both embraced a rigged political culture that has left voters disillusioned and disenfranchised.
He accused them of placing party insiders and failed politicians into positions of power with no public scrutiny.
Wishart concluded that only independence will give Scotland the fair and accountable democracy it deserves.
