Sadiq Khan has been given a seat in the Lords by Keir Starmer in a political peerages list released before Parliament breaks for the summer recess
Sadiq Khan has been given a seat in the Lords by Keir Starmer in a political peerages list released before Parliament breaks for the summer recess.
The PM also handed a peerage to Christina McAnea, the former chief of major union Unison, and Alison Graham, the chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group.
He gave out 16 seats in the Lords in total, including Bar Council chair Barbara Mills KC, Broadcaster and charity campaigner June Sarpong and West Yorkshire’s deputy mayor for policing and crime Alison Lowe. Former Labour MP and economist Kitty Ussher was also given a peerage, as was co-founder and Parvais Jabbar, the co-executive director of The Death Penalty Project.
Mr Starmer last week signalled he could break his pledge not to hand out resignation honours, twice failing to rule out drawing up a list of gongs when he quits Downing Street on July 20. The list released today is a cross-party list that was in the works before the PM announced his resignation.
When he was opposition leader in 2023, Mr Starmer criticised Rishi Sunak for allowing Boris Johnson to hand out honours to allies, saying it was “very hard to justify”.
So far Mr Starmer’s government has appointed 66 since coming into power in 2024. Tony Blair nominated 106 peers in two years, David Cameron nominated 122 in two years, and Boris Johnson nominated 82 peers in two years.
A peerage for Sir Sadiq opens the door for the London Mayor to join the Cabinet table as peers serving in the House of Lords are able to become ministers.
But a spokesman for Sir Sadiq said he did not want to become a minister, saying: “Sadiq doesn’t want to be a minister, and he will continue to devote the same time and energy as Mayor building a fairer, safer and greener city for every Londoner.”
Sir Sadiq has not decided whether he will stand in the 2028 London mayoral elections. The spokesman added: “Sadiq has not yet decided whether he is standing again for Mayor. This is the same as previous elections, where he announced his decision much later in the electoral cycle.”
A Government source said: “Sadiq has been a brilliant Mayor who has transformed London for the better, so this is thoroughly deserved. He has cut violent crime to record lows, cleaned up the capital’s air, delivered the Elizabeth Line, and got London building council homes again.”
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