Sadiq Khan made a peer by Starmer

Sadiq Khan made a peer by Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to the House of Lords in one of his final acts as prime minister. The nomination is part of a list of 26 new peers announced on Thursday, July 16, 2026, as Sir Keir prepares to leave office on Monday.

Sir Sadiq is one of 16 political appointments made by the outgoing prime minister. Other Labour nominations include broadcaster June Sarpong, former Unison general secretary Christina McAnea, former Labour MP and economist Kitty Ussher, Child Poverty Action Group chief executive Alison Graham, and Death Penalty Project co-executive director Parvais Jabbar.

While a seat in the Lords allows a member to serve as a government minister, the BBC understands Sir Sadiq is not seeking a role in the incoming government of Andy Burnham, who is set to succeed Sir Keir at 10 Downing Street on Monday. Sources close to the mayor indicate he remains committed to the final two years of his current term. Having first been elected in 2016, Sir Sadiq is mid-way through his third term and has not yet decided if he will seek a fourth in 2028.

A government source described Sir Sadiq as a brilliant mayor who has transformed London for the better, stating the peerage was thoroughly deserved. The source credited the mayor with delivering the Elizabeth Line, cleaning up the capital's air, getting London building council homes again, and cutting violent crime to record lows.

A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said he was honoured to be given a peerage and that serving as mayor continues to be the privilege of Sadiq’s life. The spokesperson added that London gave the mayor the opportunity to move from a council estate to the mayoralty, and his focus remains on ensuring other Londoners have the same shot at reaching their potential.

The wider list of nominations included five appointments from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and three from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. The Tory appointments include businessman and party donor David Ross, who donated £10,000 to Badenoch's leadership campaign, former army head General Sir Patrick Sanders, and Professor Swaran Singh.

Sir Ed Davey welcomed the entry of agricultural economist Julia Aglionby, former Barnsley councillor Hannah Kitching, economist Tim Leunig, campaigns director Dave McCobb, and entrepreneur Mark Petterson into the Lords. Sir Ed said these individuals possess the skills to hold the Government to account and help fix our broken politics.

Two cross-bench peers were also named: retired senior judge Sir Brian Leveson and former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald, who was removed from his post by Sir Keir earlier this year.

The appointments have drawn criticism from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, as his party received no peerages. Farage described the move as the uniparty writ large, claiming the resulting upper house is even more unrepresentative.

The timing and nature of the peerages have sparked debate over Labour's previous stances on the chamber. In 2022, Labour planned to abolish the Lords in favor of a new, reformed upper chamber, though this was later scaled back to considering an alternative second chamber and removing 92 hereditary peers this year. Before the 2024 general election, Sir Keir argued for the abolition of the House of Lords and accused Conservatives of having stuffed the red benches.

Furthermore, Sir Keir had previously found resignation honours very hard to justify and stated in 2023 that he would not submit a traditional list upon leaving office. However, Downing Street has suggested these are political peerages based on a cross-party list developed before Sir Keir's resignation announcement last month, rather than traditional resignation honours.

Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham has previously called for a complete overhaul of the unelected chamber, describing the current system as quite scandalous and suggesting the second chamber become a senate of regions and nations with seats for metro mayors.

Despite the new appointments, the Conservatives remain the largest bloc in the House of Lords with 246 peers, followed by Labour with 216, crossbenchers with 156, and Liberal Democrats with 74.