Sadiq Khan has been nominated for a peerage in Keir Starmer’s resignation honours list.(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
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.
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The Labour London Mayor will take his seat on the red benches with former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald and Sir Brian Leveson, a retired senior judge, who are not affiliated to any party.
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Sir Chris was effectively forced out of his job by the PM after a No10 reboot amid the fallout of the Peter Mandelson scandal in February.
Among the 16 new Labour seats in the Lords, the PM handed a peerage to Christina McAnea, the former chief of major union Unison, and Alison Garnham, the chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group.
Liberal Democrat Sir Ed Davey has made five nominations and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch made three.
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The Mirror understands that today’s cross-party list was in the works before the PM announced his was quitting office. A separate resignation honours list could also be in the works.
Mr Starmer last week signalled he could break his pledge not to hand out resignation honours. He twice failed to rule out drawing up a list of gongs when he departs Downing Street on July 20.
Labour has previously accused the Tories of having “stuffed” the red benches while in power. 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”.
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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.”
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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.”
Mr Starmer’s list also included 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 Parvais Jabbar, the co-founder and co-executive director of The Death Penalty Project. Marcus Davey, the former CEO and Artistic Director of the Roundhouse, and Martin McTague OBE, the national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, were also handed peerages.
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In office, the Government passed the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, putting an end to seats being available for hereditary peers by virtue of their family ties.
There have been long-standing concerns about the size of the House and calls to reduce its membership, which currently stands at 774, compared with MPs, who are capped at 650. Figures show the Conservatives remain the largest bloc in the Lords, with 246 peers compared with Labour’s 216. There are 156 crossbench peers and 74 from the Liberal Democrats.