Starmer appoints 25 Labour peers to boost support in House of Lords

Keir Starmer has appointed 25 Labour peers, including a number of former senior government and party aides, in an attempt to strengthen his hand in the House of Lords.

- Eleni Courea

Matthew Doyle, a former No 10 director of communications, and Katie Martin, a former chief of staff to Rachel Reeves, will be among those appointed to the upper house in a move first reported by the Guardian.

Carol Linforth, a former Labour party chief of staff for operations, and Richard Walker, the executive chair of Iceland and a Labour donor who switched from supporting the Conservatives before the 2024 election, will also receive peerages.

Others on Labour’s list include Michael Barber, a Whitehall veteran who led Tony Blair’s delivery unit and now advises Starmer.

The move brings the number of peers appointed by Starmer to 62. This includes a tranche of 30 peers announced last December and seven who have been created so that they can take up ministerial roles.

The decision is likely to draw criticism from electoral reform campaigners, who argue that the appointment process is undemocratic and used by prime ministers to reward their allies.