TWO FORMER north Hampshire MPs have been included in a list of new peers.

Former North West Hampshire MP, Sir George Young, and former North East Hampshire MP, James Arbuthnot, have been named in a list of 45 new peers who were nominated by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Sir George Young stood down from his role as North West Hampshire MP in May after 18 years in the constituency which covers areas including Overton, Tadley and Whitchurch.

The 74-year-old first became an MP for Ealing Acton in 1974, and after his constituency ceased to exist due to boundary changes, he was elected as a local MP for North West Hampshire in 1997.

The father-of-four had enjoyed a glittering career which had seen him occupy a number of ministerial roles such as Secretary of State for Transport between 1995 and 1997, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence between 1997 and 1998, Leader of the House of Commons between 2010 and 2012 and Chief Whip between 2012 and 2014, working alongside three different Prime Ministers – Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron.

Former North East Hampshire MP James Arbuthnot also made the decision to step down at the General Election in May.

Like Sir George, father-of-four Mr Arbuthnot served his constituency for 18 years and became a familiar sight at events in villages such as Odiham and Hartley Wintney.

Before being serving as North East Hampshire MP, Mr Arbuthnot was the MP for Wanstead and Woodford between 1987 and 1997.

Most notably, Mr Arbuthnot, who is 63, was the chairman of the Defence Select Committee between 2005 and 2014.

Other well-known figures in the list, announced today, include former Foreign Secretary William Hague, former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling and lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone.

The new members bring the total number of active Lords to over 800.