A week ago, Charlotte Owen was an unknown woman whose inconspicuous student days were followed by an unusually stellar career at Downing Street. Now Boris Johnson is sending the 30-year-old to the House of Lords. Why he is doing this – and why it is damaging to British democracy.
There is much to be said for Boris Johnson’s list of nominees for the House of Lords. A candidate for the resigned ex-prime minister, anti-abortionist, Brexit fanatic and distributor of AfD videos, is Jacob Rees-Mogg. Because of his archaic demeanor and affected accent, he’s often called “the MP for the 18th century.” Former Home Secretary Priti Patel also made it onto Johnson’s list; So far, only her successor in office, Suella Braverman, has been able to hold a candle to her cruel refugee policy. Originally even Boris Johnson’s father Stanley is said to have been on the list of nominees, but in the final instance the Lords probably decided that this was going too far.
The so-called “Honours List”, a list of recommendations for royal honors and candidates for the upper house, can be drawn up by all outgoing prime ministers. Which doesn’t mean that everyone uses it. Boris Johnson insists on being on his “list of honours”.
Who is Charlotte Owen?
Also on that list is a certain Charlotte Owen, whom nobody had heard of until recently.