LONDON ̵1; A political journalist-turned spin doctor who is barely 30 took his seat in Britain’s unelected House of Lords on Thursday as part of a controversial farewell honor for Boris Johnson.
Ross Kempsell, 31, who serves as spokesman for the former prime minister, is now Baron Kempsell of Letchworth.
He took his place in the Lords on Thursday, where he would be guaranteed a lifetime seat as a Conservative peer to scrutinize government legislation, and would be entitled to claim an attendance allowance of £332 per day.
Johnson’s other teammates at Lord’s this week include Britain’s youngest ever partner, Charlotte Owens. The 30-year-old former special adviser became Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge. Management consultant and former Tory candidate Kulvir Ranger, 48, who worked with Johnson when he was mayor of London, has become Baron Ranger of Northwood.
Outgoing prime ministers of all political persuasions have long used the honor of their resignations to reward colleagues with honors including seats in the Lords and knighthoods.
Johnson’s own listing sparked particular controversy. Controversy erupts over colleagues who didn’t make the cut, He also drew criticism for rewarding figures at the center of the Partygate controversy, which saw gatherings breaking coronavirus rules in government under Johnson’s watch.
Kempsell remains the favorite figure for Westminster reporters looking for Team Johnson’s latest line.
His winding career path saw him graduate from the University of Cambridge to a job at the right-wing news site Guido Fox. He became the Political Editor of TalkRadio in 2018, where he held the position Scoop The then Prime Minister ended his political duties by painting model buses.
Kempsell left journalism to become Special Adviser on Media in Johnson’s government from 2019 to 2020, after which she made a brief return to the industry as a special correspondent at Times Radio. He then moved back to become political director at Conservative campaign headquarters.
Kempsell once edited Varsity, the journal of Cambridge University – where he readers treated A Column on “Why” [then-Chancellor George] Osborne’s interest in rap music is destroying the economy.