Sir Keir Starmer nominated 26 new peers as one of his final acts as prime minister before leaving office on Monday, with London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan among 16 Labour nominees on a cross-party list (BBC News).

Downing Street published the list, describing it as "political peerages" rather than resignation honours — the traditional perk outgoing prime ministers use to reward allies on their way out. The King "has been graciously pleased to signify his intention of conferring peerages," the government said (gov.uk). The cross-party nominations were being worked on before Starmer announced his resignation as Labour leader last month.

The 16 Labour nominees include broadcaster June Sarpong and former union chief Christina McAnea, alongside Khan. The Liberal Democrats received five nominations: Julia Aglionby, Hannah Kitching, Tim Leunig, Dave McCobb, and Mark Petterson. The Conservatives secured three: former army head General Sir Patrick Sanders, Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross, and Professor Swaran Singh of the University of Warwick. Two cross-bench members — peers who sit with no party affiliation — complete the list: former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald and retired senior judge Sir Brian Leveson (BBC News).

Reform UK received no peerages in the list published on Thursday.

Khan's elevation to the Lords is notable for its timing. Andy Burnham is due to become the next prime minister on Monday when Starmer formally leaves office. The BBC understands that Khan is not seeking a ministerial role in Burnham's incoming government. He has not yet decided whether to seek a fourth term as London mayor in 2028 (BBC News).

The upper chamber's size has grown substantially in recent cycles. According to the UK Parliament website, 117 new members have joined the House of Lords since 1 January 2025 (UK Parliament). This latest tranche will add further to that total once the peerages are formally conferred.

The inclusion of Wormald and Leveson as cross-bench peers brings two institutional heavyweights to the unelected chamber. Wormald served as cabinet secretary — the most senior official in the civil service, effectively the head of the government's professional staff — while Leveson is a retired senior judge whose name is permanently associated with the inquiry into press standards and ethics.

For the Liberal Democrats, five nominees is a meaningful allocation for a party that has spent the last parliament rebuilding its parliamentary presence. The Conservative nominations span military, commercial, and academic backgrounds: Sanders led the British Army before retirement; Ross co-founded Carphone Warehouse; and Singh is a professor at the University of Warwick.

The timing of the list's publication, on the eve of Starmer's departure, places the machinery of Lords appointments squarely in the transition window between administrations. The nominations were prepared before Starmer's resignation announcement, which means the process predates the leadership contest that produced Burnham as his successor. The incoming prime minister will inherit an upper chamber shaped, in part, by his predecessor's final decisions in office.

For Khan specifically, the peerage offers a seat in the Lords without an immediate ministerial destination. His decision on a fourth mayoral term in 2028 remains open, and the Lords role gives him a Westminster platform irrespective of that choice.