Rishi Sunak may face three by-elections if MPs nominated for peerages by Boris Johnson stand down from the Commons.
The former prime minister’s resignation honours list is expected to feature Scotland secretary Alister Jack, former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, ally Nigel Adams and Cop26 president Alok Sharma.
The House of Lords appointments watchdog has advised that the MPs will have to stand down in order to take up peerages.
And Ms Dorries, Mr Adams and Mr Sharma are prepared to do so, The Times reported, leading to three by-elections which the Tories could lose. But Mr Jack confirmed he would not force a by-election, stressing he will not quit as an MP until the next general election.
The prospect of a series of polls comes just weeks after the Tories suffered heavily at the local elections – shedding 1,061 councillors and losing control of dozens of councils.
According to Politico’s poll of polls, Labour has a 17-point lead over the Conservatives, raising fears Mr Sunak’s party could lose the seats if they go to a by-election.
Polling suggests Mr Sharma would lose his Reading West seat to Labour, while Mr Adams would lose to Labour in Selby and Ainsty, in Yorkshire.
The Conservatives are expected to hold onto Ms Dorries’ Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Mr Johnson’s honours list is thought to include around 50 people, including his own father, and has sparked controversy among Tory MPs. Senior party figures branded the plan to hand Stanley Johnson a knighthood “absurd” and told The Independent it will “corrode public trust”.
But Mr Sunak is reportedly prepared to wave through the list, which could be announced next month.
Previous reports have indicated Mr Johnson is also putting forward former assistant Charlotte Owens and aide Ross Kempsell, who previously worked for TalkTV.
The list is currently being vetted by Cabinet Office officials before the honours committee decides on which names go forward to Buckingham Palace.
No 10 officials were thought to have had concerns about the size of the list, as well as some of the names of those put forward.
