Keir Starmer honours list: Sadiq Khan to be made a lord by outgoing prime minister
Sir Sadiq Khan will be given the rank by outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer for his work as mayor of London.
The Labor mayor will sit in the red bench seat of the House of Lords, alongside former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald, who was sacked by Sir Keir earlier this year, and retired judge Sir Brian Leveson, who led the inquiry into press standards in 2012.
A government source who confirmed Sir Sadiq’s candidacy praised him as “a brilliant mayor who is transforming London for the better”.
They added: “He brought violent crime to record levels, cleaned up the capital’s air, delivered the Elizabeth line and rebuilt council houses in London.”
Given that members of the House of Lords can become ministers, a peerage potentially opens the door for Sir Sadiq to join Andy Burnham’s new cabinet, which is due to be announced next week. However, it is understood Sir Sadiq will remain as mayor of the city and does not seek a ministerial post.
His spokesman said that he was “honored to be given the prophethood.”
“London has given Sadiq the opportunity to become mayor of London from a council estate and his focus will continue to be on ensuring all Londoners have the same chance to achieve the full potential that London has to offer him and his family,” they added. “Serving as mayor of the world’s greatest city remains the privilege of Sadiq’s life.
“He is excited about what more can be done in the coming years and will dedicate his time and energy to defending our city and building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.”
The awards were announced as part of a cross-party list understood to have been worked out before Sir Keir’s decision to stand down as prime minister after Mr Burnham announced he planned to challenge Sir Keir for the Labor leadership.
Others elevated to the House of Lords due to the Prime Minister’s resignation include television presenter June Sarpong and Christina McAnea, the former general secretary of the Unison union, one of Labour’s biggest donors.
Sir Keir has said he will not present a traditional resignation honors list when his term as prime minister ends in 2023, following controversy over lists submitted by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
Sir Keir said at the time: “Tony Blair didn’t have a resignation list. It’s very difficult to justify that. There are other ways of doing that and I think it’s easier to be upfront about it and simply say no, I wouldn’t do that.”
Sir Keir also gave precedents to Alison Graham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group; former Labor MP and economist Kitty Ussher; and Parvais Jabbar, co-executive director of the Death Penalty Project.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch praised Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross; General Sir Patrick Sanders, former Chief of Staff of the Army; and consultant psychiatrist Professor Swaran Singh.
Sir Ed Davey also welcomed five new Liberal Democrat MPs.
Agricultural economist Julia Aglionby, former Barnsley councilor and physiotherapist Hannah Kitching, economist Tim Leunig, Liberal Democrat campaign director Dave McCobb and offshore wind entrepreneur Mark Petterson have been elevated to the House of Lords.
Sir Ed said: “Each has the right skills, experience and values to help us hold government to account, deliver the change people need and fix our broken policies, including reforming the House of Lords.”
