Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to pack the House of Lords with nearly 19 new Labour peers, a move critics have branded as 'gerrymandering' the upper chamber. The appointments are expected to be announced days before he leaves office, bringing the total number of Labour peers appointed by Sir Keir to 135 since he came to power two years ago. This figure substantially exceeds the 92 hereditary peers who lost their seats under government reforms.
Controversial Distribution of Peerages
The new list is due to be rubber-stamped by the House of Lords Appointments Commission on Monday. It has sparked controversy because Sir Keir has awarded fewer peerages to the Conservatives than to the Liberal Democrats, despite Kemi Badenoch's party holding a third more seats in the Commons. Labour will gain 19 new peers, while the Tories receive only four and the Liberal Democrats five. Reform UK has yet to be granted a single peerage.
Labour has previously argued that new peerages are necessary to correct an imbalance in the Lords after 14 years of Conservative government. Before the general election, Sir Keir described the current system as 'indefensible', accusing the Tories of handing out political peerages to 'cronies and lackeys'.
Accusations of Gerrymandering
One Conservative source described the latest appointments as a 'blatant attempt to gerrymander the Lords'. 'It is yet another example of Labour's disregard for constitutional convention for their own political ends,' they told the Times newspaper. The source suggested that the Liberal Democrats had been given more seats because of a deal with Labour, noting that while Lib Dem MPs have voted against contentious government legislation, the party's peers have often quietly backed Starmer's proposals.
'The Labour Party knows the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords will vote with them, and so they are willing to overturn all norms and precedents,' the Tory source said. 'After votes at 16 and postponing council elections, giving Ed Davey more peers than the official opposition just stinks.'
Labour's Defence
A Labour source countered that the Tories' figure was lower because the party had managed to convert 15 hereditary peers into life peers, allowing them to remain in the Lords. A Downing Street spokeswoman declined to comment on peerage 'speculation'.
The appointments come amid broader criticism of Starmer's legacy, with some accusing him of undermining democratic institutions. The controversy adds to tensions as the Prime Minister prepares to step down.
