The Labour Mayor of London has been made a peer by the outgoing PM
Sir Sadiq Khan has been made a peer (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer came under fire after handing Sir Sadiq Khan a peerage as he prepares to leave office. The Labour London Mayor, who called for the House of Lords to be abolished in 2022, is among 16 political appointments by the outgoing PM.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has made three, while Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has made five.
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Shadow Minister for London Gareth Bacon said: “Sadiq Khan has been a disastrous Mayor of London. Under his watch, housebuilding has collapsed to levels not seen since the Second World War.
“He has almost doubled his share of Council tax, he hammered motorists with ULEZ expansion and repeated Congestion Charge increases, all the while allowing Londoners to endure hundreds of days of TfL strikes.
“Rewarding this record of abysmal failure will come as slap in the face to every Londoner and it speaks volumes about a Labour Party that rewards cronyism. Sadiq Khan has done nothing to earn a place in the Lords.”
Sir Keir Starmer will leave 10 Downing Street on Monday (Image: Getty)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The House of Lords appointments are the uniparty writ large.
“Once again there is nothing for Reform and we get an even more unrepresentative upper house.”
Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice added: “Twenty-six new peers in resignation honours. None for Reform UK despite leading in over 350 national polls. Establishment stitch up again.”
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.”
A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said he was “honoured to be given a peerage”.
They said: “London gave Sadiq the opportunities to go from a council estate to being mayor of London, and his focus will continue to be ensuring that all Londoners get the same shot at reaching their full potential that London gave him and his family.”
Sir Sadiq’s elevation to the Lords means he could join Andy Burnham’s Cabinet in the future.
Before the 2024 general election, Sir Keir argued that the House of Lords should be scrapped, while Labour accused the Tories of having “stuffed” the red benches while in power.
The list is not Sir Keir’s resignation honours list which he could do a later point, although he has previously pledged that he would not do so.
It comes as Mr Burnham is set to succeed Sir Keir in 10 Downing Street on Monday
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.
