JK Rowling reveals she turned down peerages twice after Kemi Badenoch offer

[IwantToRetire]

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed she has rebuffed two offers of a peerage following Conservative politician Kemi Badenoch, publicly announcing she would appoint her to the House of Lords.

The iconic author, 59, was praised by the Secretary of State for Business who said if she won the Tory leadership, she would be able to appoint some peers for being outspoken figures in the gender debate. However, this did little to sway the fictional writer.

Taking to X, JK recently wrote: "It’s considered bad form to talk about this but I’ll make an exception given the very particular circumstances. I’ve already turned down a peerage twice, once under Labour and once under the Tories. If offered one a third time, I still wouldn’t take it. It’s not her, it’s me."

The former equalities minister claimed in an interview with the Talk online streaming service, that she had "managed to get Dr Hilary Cass a peerage" following her controversial review of NHS gender identity services. The Cass review, published in April, found care had been directed by "ideology on all sides" and was based on "remarkably weak evidence."

Continues at https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jk-rowling-reveals-turned-down-33933559

"did little to sway the fictional writer."

Poor JKR, to have her existence thus erased.

literal violence!

shame though, thinking people are a good addition to the lords.

What a shame. She would have been great.

😁

“However, this did little to sway the fictional writer.”

But did it sway the fiction writer?

That's unsurprising. JKR is a very private, introverted person. Spending time with her family and writing books is much more enjoyable than dealing with the political circus of the HoL.

Fascinating history here of women in the second house:

https://x.com/WomenOfWessex/status/1848243368087732241

Can I say that the more that I read about the Countess of Mar (notable speeches in re: GRA 2004) and her interventions across a range of causes, the more impressed I am.

She should have taken it. This is the problem the people who can most do good don't take them.

I think that, when it comes to doing good, JK more than pulls her weight as it is.

I have always assumed that JKR must have turned down a peerage, because she is such an obvious choice to be awarded one - she has done such a huge amount for this country, in terms of getting children reading, boosting the economy through the Harry Potter films, doing work for charity such as setting up Lumos etc. I mean, one of those on its own would be enough to get you a place in the House of Lords.

I don't know why she turned the peerages down, but I dare say she wants to concentrate on writing rather than turning up to boring debates in the HoL. Or perhaps she just felt the whole system is silly and anachronistic.

We need a second house to review legislation and discuss areas where Parliament could legislate. I may be unusual but I'm quite happy with the model we have now. People get into the House of Lords for a range of reasons. Some are still there through inheritance, but they are now in the minority and their numbers will steadily fall over time. They're not all loaded land owners either. Some of the rest were long-serving MPs or political activists, but quite a number have been offered peerages after a lifetime of service and achievement in other fields, e.g. Professor Robert Winston. JKR would have been a great addition, but she strikes me as someone who won't take anything on unless she can give it her all, and you can't be a working peer if you're still putting in full-time hours in your original profession. I'm very glad she's still writing. Looking forward very much to her next Strike book!

(She is a Companion of Honour. Prince William picked her for that, according to the BBC. Not quite sure what involves other than turning up for agreeable lunches and dinners with other high achievers, but it sounds like fun.)

I don't dispute that one iota. But being in the HoL affords one power in a different way. How many truly GC women are appointed please? Harriet Harman anybody?

Secondly, there are entirely too many people appointed who have absolutely no idea about what life is like for ordinary people, how many people appointed have her life experience with the accompanying understanding of how policies affect ordinary people and most importantly women? I remember reading years ago her experience of single parenthood and her talking about the inherent misogyny of the media discussion around single women with children, which was pretty relentless at the time, and being really impressed that she never dismissed how tough things are for SP in this country, despite being mega rich by then. It was extremely unique that someone with such varied life experience should have risen so high.

Put your money where your mouth is.

Can I say that the more that I read about the Countess of Mar (notable speeches in re: GRA 2004) and her interventions across a range of causes, the more impressed I am.

Now imagine if there were two of them?

That was a fun twiX read.

I shall look out the pictures of me as a criminal, wearing trousers in Paris without a police permit, whilst in possession of female biology ....in1999.

This tweet was also a revelation..... 1910, after a demonstration by the Women’s Tax Resistance League, the House of Lords held a spirited debate in which it overwhelmingly agreed that the law giving husbands ownership of their wives’ earnings was unfair. The law was eventually changed in 1972. Not a typo. 1972.

This tweet was also a revelation..... 1910, after a demonstration by the Women’s Tax Resistance League, the House of Lords held a spirited debate in which it overwhelmingly agreed that the law giving husbands ownership of their wives’ earnings was unfair. The law was eventually changed in 1972. Not a typo. 1972.

Which just goes to show that the House of Lords is sometimes more genuinely progressive than the House of Commons. Even one consisting overwhelmingly of those with inherited peerages, as it would have done in 1910.

Did you really just say that JK Rowling, founder of Lumos, Beira's place and I'm sure much more besides, should put her money where her mouth is?

I agree that there's serious work to be done in the House of Lords and that it desperately needs good people. But doing a decent job there must require a big investment of time and energy - resources that will inevitably not then be spent elsewhere. If JKR believes it's not for her then I'm going to respect that.

I'd love her to be in the house of lords but there's only so much you can expect from one woman.

Plus, I suspect she values her privacy desperately, at this stage in her life.

Did you really just say that JK Rowling, founder of Lumos, Beira's place and I'm sure much more besides, should put her money where her mouth is?

Somehow I managed to do that, yeah🤦🏾‍♀️😂🙄

I can't believe JKR is getting pilloried for not accepting a peerage.

Strange times we live in ....

Pilloried is a bit of an exaggeration. People are entitled to say they think she should have taken it, I haven't seen anyone saying she should be put in the stocks and abused for not doing so.

I agree that its a shame (for the House of lords or even the country) she didn't accept it because she would have been great but equally understandable why she wouldn't have wanted to, and far more honourable to just say no, than those who accept it so they can have a title but put minimal effort in and turn up only to claim their expenses and use the subsidised canteen!

Comment was slightly tongue in cheek.

But ffs, it's up to her! She is under no obligation!

What do we want?

J. K. Rowling to be cloned and one clone to sit in the House of Lords!

When do we want it?

As soon as it can be done safely and with her informed consent!

[possibly needs work]

As well as Lumos and Beira's place JKR also set up https://www.volanttrust.org/

And then of course there are the crowdfunders etc that she's quietly contributed to, the way she uses her fame to shield other women's rights activists and shine light on their work, and the fact that she's given away so much of her money that she's gone from being a billionaire to a millionaire, according to Forbes. I don't think we can expect her to also add a career in the Lords to this lot - oh, and of course there's the small matter of finding time for writing bestselling books.