According to reports, Nick Clegg is to receive a knighthood in the New Year’s honours list.
The former deputy prime minister will be rewarded for his political and public service. Despite losing his seat in Sheffield Hallam this year, Clegg has remained very political.
This award is likely to be controversial among Brexit supporters after the publication of Clegg’s books, called How to Stop Brexit (And Make Britain Great Again).
In his book, Clegg describes the vote as a “historic mistake”, and explains how Brexit could be reversed.
The honours list is kept secret until it is announced on New Year’s Eve. Many from the right-wing are calling for Nigel Farage to be awarded on this year’s honours list, due to his role in the Brexit campaign.
“We don’t comment on any honours list speculation,” said a party spokesman.
Before becoming an MP for Sheffield Hallam, Clegg sat as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. He lost his Sheffield seat in the 2017 snap election after 12 years as the local MP.
Jared O’Mara, the winning Labour candidate said at the time: “Quite frankly, I absolutely wasn’t expecting it,”
“It was our manifesto that did it. It resonated with people. If the media hadn’t doggedly gone for Jeremy and character-assassinated him and typecast him as weak … he would have become prime minister.”
On last years honours list, David Ord, who gave the Tories £930,000, was knighted for “political service”.
Prime Minister Theresa May previously said that she wanted to shake up the system. In 2016 she said that she “retched” when she saw David Cameron’s resignation honours list.