Alexander Lebedev is perched on a corporate sofa in his London HQ, trademark black shirt, sporty green chinos and sturdy black trainers. His father, Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev, is co-owner of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper in Russia. Evening Standard and Independent owner Lebedev, who held a party in Italy attended by Boris Johnson when he was foreign secretary, is a surprise name among the … Its current editor is former UK Conservative Member of Parliament and Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. Is packing the Lords with party loyalists really a priority, as a pandemic rages across the world? PM's brother Jo Johnson, England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham and Evening Standard proprietor Evgeny Lebedev among 36 to receive peerages He also launched appeals that raised millions for causes ranging from the £13 million Dispossessed Fund and homeless veterans to Great Ormond Street hospital and the recent Food for London campaign that provided free meals to vulnerable people during lockdown.Nominations from the leader of the Conservative PartyNominations for the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party:Among the party political honours, Mr Johnson ennobled his chief strategic adviser Sir Edward Lister, an ally from City Hall days, andFormer MPs who rebelled against Labour’s position to back Brexit, including former Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey, Frank Field, Ian Austin, John Woodcock and Gisela Stuart.From the opposite side of the Brexit battle, former chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond and ex-minister Ed Vaizey, who were all stripped of the Tory whip for defying Mr Johnson, were made peers.A knighthood was announced at the same time for Philip May, husband of Theresa May, Boris Johnson's predecessor in Downing Street.And former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson will also head to the House of Lords.Other names included Nigel Dodds, former Westminster leader of the DUP, and ex-MPs Sir Henry Bellingham, Nicholas Herbert, Mark Lancaster, and Sir Patrick McLoughlin.Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party:Nominations from the former Leader of the Labour Party:Two more great names from journalism will sit as peers – former Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley and the former Telegraph editor and Thatcher biographer Charles Moore.The Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Fowler, complained that too many peerages were being created and the House would "soon be nearly 830 strong". Luke Harding and … This is making a mockery of democracy.”Boris Johnson and Evgeny Lebedev at a Hampton Court Palace dinner in 2009.Boris Johnson and Evgeny Lebedev at a Hampton Court Palace dinner in 2009. Hosted by The Evening Standard proprietor Evgeny Lebedev and co-hosted by Anna Wintour, the much celebrated theatre awards remain The Evening Standard's signature event. This was debated by the Lords itself with over 90 speakers, commanding overwhelming support. On 21 January 2009, the Russian businessman and former Previously there were three editions each weekday, excluding In May 2009, the newspaper launched a series of poster ads, each of which prominently featured the word "Sorry" in the paper's then-masthead font. "It is also a vast pity that the list has been announced within the first few days of the summer recess when neither House is sitting, and the Government cannot be challenged in Parliament," he continued.The Liberal Democrats' leader in the Lords, Lord Newby said Mr Johnson had "abandoned any pretence of reducing the size of the bloated House of Lords".Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: "Based on the average claim of a peer, the 36 new peers are likely to cost £1.1 million a year in expenses from the taxpayer.”