Sadiq Khan receives peerage from Keir Starmer in final PM honours list

Sadiq Khan receives peerage from Keir Starmer in final PM honours list

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has been granted a peerage by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in one of the outgoing leader's final acts in office. The appointment, announced Thursday, July 16, 2026, places the former MP for Tooting in the House of Lords alongside 25 other new peers.

The nomination has triggered an immediate political row. Critics, including Reform UK and some Conservative figures, have pointed to the fact that Sir Sadiq called for the abolition of the House of Lords in 2022. Reform UK's London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham questioned on X whether the mayor's principles had changed, asking, Isn’t being Mayor of London enough of a title for you? And will you now resign?

However, a government source defended the appointment, stating that Sir Sadiq has been a brilliant mayor who has transformed London for the better and that the honour is thoroughly deserved. This source cited the delivery of the Elizabeth Line, the cleaning of the capital's air, the return of council home building, and the reduction of violent crime to record lows as key achievements.

Sir Sadiq is currently midway through his third term as mayor, having first been elected in 2016. He has not yet decided if he will seek a fourth term in the 2028 contest, though he is expected to make that decision next year. A spokesperson for the mayor stated that he was honoured to be given a peerage and that his focus remains on ensuring Londoners reach their full potential.

The Composition of the Honours List

The latest batch of political peerages is distributed among several parties, though Reform UK received no nominations. According to official data, the breakdown of the 26 new peers is as follows:

Among the Labour appointees are broadcaster June Sarpong, former Unison general secretary Christina McAnea, and human rights experts Saul Lehrfreund and Parvais Jabbar. The Liberal Democrat nominations include economist Tim Leunig and agricultural economist Julia Aglionby. Conservative appointments include former army chief General Patrick Sanders and Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, who donated £10,000 to Kemi Badenoch's leadership campaign.

Crossbench appointments include former Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald—who was forced out of his post by Sir Keir earlier this year—and retired senior judge Sir Brian Leveson.

Political Implications and Reform

The timing of the list comes as Andy Burnham prepares to succeed Sir Keir as prime minister on Monday, July 20. While the peerage technically allows Sir Sadiq to join a future cabinet, the mayor has reportedly told the incoming prime minister he has no wish to be a minister in the government.

The appointments clash with long-standing calls for reform. Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, described the move as baffling given Labour's previous manifesto claims that the second chamber had become too big and that reform was essential. He noted the Lords is the second largest legislative chamber in the world after China's National People's Congress, with over 700 members.

Mr Burnham has previously described the fact that half of the national legislature is unelected as quite scandalous and has advocated for the chamber to become an elected senate of regions and nations. He is reportedly considering appointing metro mayors to the red benches as a first step toward this goal.

Despite his past criticism of the practice, Sir Keir has not ruled out a separate list of resignation honours, despite pledging in 2023 on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he would not do so, stating at the time that such lists were very hard to justify.

Current figures show the Conservatives remain the largest bloc in the Lords with 246 seats, compared to Labour's 216, with 156 crossbenchers and 74 Liberal Democrats.