Friday, July 21, 2006

What does a peerage cost?


What does a peerage cost?

On average the answer is apparently £1 million, made in donations or loans to the Labour Party.
But a contribution of just £50,000 brings a 50-50 chance of receiving an honour, according to a new study.



Statistical analysis showed that 58.54 per cent of all donors giving more than £50,000 to Labour received an honour, compared to just 0.035 per cent of non-donors.



The study, published by the Bow Group, a centre-Right think-tank, shows that large Labour donors are more than 1,000 times more likely to receive an honour than a non-donor, andnearly 7,000 times more likely to get a peerage.



The survey suggested that gaining a seat in the House of Lords is cheaper than it was in 1922, when Lloyd George, the former Liberal prime minister, was selling honours.

At that time becoming a lord cost £50,000 or £1.9 million in today's prices.



But other honours are more expensive - a knighthood costs £747,683 compared to £15,000 (£571,923) in the 1920s.

2 comments:

NYC Educator said...

There you go shattering all my hopes of glory.

How I had dreamed of joining Sir Rudy on the road to glory, and now it's back to grading papers.

Cartledge said...

Yes, knighthoods don't come cheap either.