1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours

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Harold Wilson in 1967 Harold Wilson (1967).jpg
Harold Wilson in 1967

The 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were announced on 27 May 1976 to mark the resignation of the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. [1] [2] The list of resignation honours became known satirically as the "Lavender List".

Contents

Controversy

The list caused controversy as a number of recipients were wealthy businessmen whose principles were considered antithetical to those held by the Labour Party at the time.

Roy Jenkins notes that Wilson's retirement "was disfigured by his, at best, eccentric resignation honours list, which gave peerages or knighthoods to some adventurous business gentlemen, several of whom were close neither to him nor to the Labour Party." [3]

One businessman on the list, Lord Kagan, was convicted of fraud in 1980; Sir Eric Miller committed suicide while under investigation for fraud in 1977. Another beneficiary was the buccaneering financier James Goldsmith. Nearly all of the other names on the list such as actor John Mills were, however, uncontroversial. Dismissing the notoriety of these two names, both of Wilson's academic biographers, Professor Ben Pimlott and Philip Ziegler, writing in the 1990s long after the purported events stress that there was never any question at the time or subsequently of financial impropriety in the drawing up of the list.

The origin of the name "Lavender List" derived from the claim made by former press secretary and journalist Joe Haines that the head of Wilson's political office, Lady Falkender, had written the original draft on lavender-coloured notepaper. No documentary evidence has been proffered to support this claim and Wilson and Falkender denied it. Joe Haines expressly denied any financial impropriety in the compilation of the list on national television in an interview on BBC's Panorama on 14 February 1977. In 2001 Joe Haines altered his allegations with an entirely new version of the "Lavender List". Lady Falkender sued Joe Haines for libel in 2007 over the statement that she was the author of the list. Many statements in the media were subject to litigation by both Wilson and Falkender during the 1970s, which later gave rise to a long complaint by Wilson published in The Times that his administration had been subject to an alleged smear campaign. Wilson's suspicions were later partially corroborated by former MI5 Assistant Director Peter Wright in his book Spycatcher , a book that was initially banned from publication in the UK.

According to a letter from Edith Summerskill published in The Times on 27 May 1977, the members of the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee "were astounded when we read the list of proposed honours. We told the civil servant present that we could not approve of at least half of the list, and would he see that this was conveyed to the Prime Minister", and that "it astonished us to find that, with one exception, the original list of recipients was published unchanged." But she comments that "we were in fact faced with a fait accompli which we had no power to upset." [4]

Political and Public Services List

The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour.

Life peers

Privy Counsellor

Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH)

Knights Bachelor

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Private Office List

Life peer

Knighthood

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

British Empire Medal

Docudrama

The Lavender List is a British television docudrama broadcast on BBC Four in March 2006 based on the version of events put forward by Joe Haines in 2001, events that he claimed led to the drafting of the 1976 Resignation Honours. Lady Falkender threatened to sue the BBC for libel over the programme, and in line with BBC policy in the wake of recent libel defeats, the BBC opted to settle out of court rather than contest the libel action. In addition to a financial settlement, the BBC agreed to never rebroadcast the programme.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours</span> British government recognitions

The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to The London Gazette of 1 August 1997 and marked the May 1997 resignation of the Prime Minister, John Major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1945 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours</span> British government recognitions

The 1945 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were announced on 14 August 1945 to mark the resignation of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, following the success of the Labour Party in the 1945 General Election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours</span> British government recognitions

The 1970 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in the London Gazette of 7 August 1970 and marked the June 1970 electoral defeat of the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Gazette, and many are formally conferred by the monarch some time after the date of the announcement, particularly for those service people on active duty.

Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Gazette and many are conferred by the monarch some time after the date of the announcement, particularly for those service people on active duty.

The New Year Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1975 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1975. These countries include Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Mauritius, Fiji, and Grenada.

The Queen's Birthday Honours 1975 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 6 June 1975 for the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, and Grenada. These were the last Birthday Honours on the advice of Australian Ministers for Papua New Guinea, as the nation gained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975.

The Queen's Birthday Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 4 June 1976 for the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and Papua New Guinea. These were the first Birthday Honours on the advice of Papua New Guinean Ministers for Papua New Guinea, as the nation had gained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975.

The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were published in supplements to the London Gazette of 2 June 1950 for the British Empire, Australia, Ceylon and New Zealand.

The 1979 Dissolution Honours List was issued in June 1979 following the general election of that year.

As part of the British honours system, the Special Honours are issued at the King's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours confer the award of the Order of the Garter, Order of the Thistle, Order of Merit, Royal Victorian Order and the Order of St John. Life Peers are at times also awarded as special honours.

References

  1. ↑ "Sir Harold's resignation honours list in full". The Times . No. 59714. 27 May 1976. Page 2, column B.
  2. ↑ Official publication was in the "No. 46916". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1976. pp. 7823–7826.
  3. ↑ Jenkins, Roy (23 September 2004). Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, Brian (eds.). Wilson, (James) Harold, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (1916–1995) . Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0198614111.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Summerskill, Edith (27 May 1977). "Letter". The Times. No. 60014. Page 17, column E.
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