Sir Leon was offered a life peerage when he left the Commons in 1989 but he chose to become a European commissioner.

BBC: Brittan returns to Parliament as peer

Unelected he may be, but Mr Macdonald is far from being the first minister who has been brought into government by the gift of a life peerage: Margaret Thatcher followed just this route when she ennobled Lord Young and then employed the successful businessman in a variety of ministerial jobs.

ECONOMIST: Peer pressure

Many of the Tory life peers created during 18 years of Conservative rule were ex-Cabinet ministers who saw a peerage as a retirement perk.

ECONOMIST: Lords reform