Sir Keir Starmer used his last full day as prime minister to hand London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan a peerage – one of 26 nominations that will reshape the House of Lords as Andy Burnham prepares to take power on Monday.
Khan, mid-way through his third term as mayor, will take a Labour seat in the upper chamber. The move would allow him to become a government minister, but the BBC understands he is not seeking a role in Burnham’s incoming administration.
“Sadiq Khan made peer in Starmer's final act; 26 new Lords nominated as Burnham prepares to become PM.”
A government source praised Khan as “a brilliant mayor who has transformed London for the better” and said his peerage was “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,” the source added.
A spokesperson for the mayor said Khan was “honoured to be given a peerage” and “excited about what more can be delivered in the years ahead”. “He will devote his time and energy to standing up for our city and building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone,” the spokesperson said.
The list, described by Downing Street as a cross-party set of “political peerages”, was being worked on before Starmer resigned as Labour leader last month. It includes 15 other Labour nominees, among them broadcaster June Sarpong and former union chief Christina McAnea. Five Liberal Democrats, three Conservatives and two cross-bench members were also named: former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald and retired senior judge Sir Brian Leveson.
Reform UK received no places. Leader Nigel Farage called the appointments “the uniparty writ large” and said: “Once again there is nothing for Reform and we get an even more unrepresentative upper house.”
Khan has not yet decided whether to seek a fourth term as mayor in 2028. The i newspaper reported that Burnham is planning to appoint the UK’s metro mayors to the Lords himself – a step towards reforming what Burnham, in his 2024 book Head North, called “actually a national embarrassment”. “We have an elected chamber that nods Bills through unchallenged and an unelected chamber heavily drawn from the higher social classes,” he wrote. “It’s wild when you think about it.”
For now, the political landscape shifts as Starmer prepares to leave office – his final act conferring a title on a mayor who, as his spokesperson put it, “went from a council estate to being Mayor of London.”
