Highlights
- Starmer is preparing to offer Sadiq Khan a peerage after May's local elections
- Khan publicly attacked Starmer last month, accusing him of taking progressive voters for granted
- The move will face scrutiny given Starmer has already appointed more peers than any of the previous four prime ministers
PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to offer a peerage to London mayor Sadiq Khan as part of a wider effort to stabilise his leadership ahead of what is expected to be a bruising set of local election results, according to the Financial Times.
The move, reported by the FT citing people familiar with the matter, would follow local and devolved elections on May 7, contests at which Labour is widely anticipated to suffer significant losses.
Some Labour MPs have privately warned that colleagues could attempt to remove the prime minister in the aftermath, with votes taking place for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and 136 English councils.
Downing Street officials are said to view the elevation of Khan, one of Starmer's most prominent internal critics, as helping the prime minister "shore up his position with patronage" at what insiders described as a moment of maximum danger.
One person familiar with discussions also told the newspaper that conversations had taken place about Khan being offered a cabinet role as part of a post-election reset, though a Downing Street official disputed that claim.
Khan, who was elected for a record third term as London mayor in 2024, turned on Starmer publicly last month after Labour finished third in the Gorton and Denton by-election on February 27.
The mayor warned that the prime minister's approach to Brexit, immigration and Gaza had been beset by "mis-steps and political positioning", and accused him of taking "progressive voters for granted."
One government source told the FT that drawing Khan "inside the tent" would "solve a lot of problems."
An ally of Khan said peerages were "a matter for the government", adding that the mayor "is completely focused on the job of delivering for Londoners." Khan's office declined to comment on the reports.
The Prime Minister is expected to allocate around 40 new peerages in total across the political spectrum, including approximately 25 for hereditary peers who face ejection from the Lords following legislation passed by the government to remove them. The additional appointments would reduce the size of the chamber to around 824 members.
Labour figures have argued the new nominations are needed to rebalance the Lords, where Tory peers currently outnumber Labour's 227 with 277 of their own.
The proposal will nonetheless draw criticism. According to the report, Starmer has already appointed more peers than any of the previous four prime ministers, a record that invites scrutiny even as Downing Street frames the latest round as a political necessity. He also awarded Khan a knighthood in January last year.
Meanwhile, a government spokesperson dismissed the reports as speculation.
