It is the only baronetcy to have been granted since 1964,[2] and is one of only three extant hereditary titles awarded outside the British royal family since 1965.

The Speaker of the House of Commons was pressed to allow a debate relating to the revival of hereditary titles, but referred MPs to Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice and in particular to the guidance that "It has been ruled that the Prime Minister cannot be interrogated as to the advice that he may have given to the sovereign with regard to the grant of honours".

[4] Major told the Commons Public Administration Committee in May 2004 that he had been lobbied by "influential figures" in the Conservative Party to make the recommendation, against his personal preference.

[5] Margaret Thatcher was granted the Order of Merit at the same time,[6][7] and was made a life peer after she stood down as an MP in 1992.

Following his conviction for his part in the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt there were calls from some MPs for him to be stripped of the title, but Thatcher ultimately retained it.