LABOUR are set to announce a raft of new peers, with seats in the House of Lords for MPs who lost their seats and Sue Gray reportedly on the agenda.
The move could see Prime Minister Keir Starmer appoint some further unelected representatives to Government, a Cabinet Secretary has hinted.
Starmer had previously pledged to abolish the House of Lords during his first term in power, but will instead only bring in small reforms such as the removal of hereditary peers.
But he will first increase the size of the chamber, with former chief of staff Gray reportedly among the Labour figures set to be elevated to the Lords this week after she refused to become the UK Government’s “envoy to nations and regions”.
Gray first came to prominence in 2022 with the report into Downing Street’s Covid lockdown parties, and then became Labour chief of staff in opposition before following them into Number 10.
Debbonaire served as the shadow culture secretary but lost her seat at the General Election to the Green Party.
On Thursday, a Cabinet minister hinted that a “strong set” of Labour peers could be appointed.
Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, was asked whether Gray could return as a minister if she is given a seat in the Lords as expected.
He told broadcasters that “decisions about Government are for the Prime Minister, not for me, but I would be really pleased – speculation at this stage – to see a really strong set of people come into the House of Lords to help the Government deliver on its agenda”.
Labour has pledged to reform the House of Lords and has already moved to get rid of hereditary peers.
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is making its way through the upper chamber.
It cleared its first hurdle in the Lords in December, having already gone through Commons stages.
The Lords has some 800 members, most of whom are life peers, and adding more Labour peers would boost the party’s representation in the chamber.
There are currently 187 Labour peers compared to 273 from the Conservative Party. The Liberal Democrats have 78 and there are 184 crossbenchers.
