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Sir Sadiq Khan has been handed a peerage by Sir Keir Starmer as the Prime Minister prepares to leave office. The Labour London Mayor is one of 26 new members of the House of Lords.

He is among 16 political appointments made by Sir Keir, while Lib Dem Sir Ed Davey has made five and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has made three.

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 his job in City Hall “continues to be the privilege of Sadiq’s life” and he will devote his time to “standing up for our city and building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone”.

They added: “Sadiq is honoured to be given a peerage.

“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.”

But 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.”

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 abolished, while Labour accused the Tories of having “stuffed” the red benches while in power

It comes as Mr Burnham is set to succeed Sir Keir in 10 Downing Street on Monday.

Downing Street previously said it was “normal practice” for prime ministers to recommend individuals for peerages, following reports Sir Keir could pack the unelected chamber with new Labour peers before leaving office.

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.