Labour says appointments needed to balance upper house and chooses former advisers to No 10 and the chancellor
Keir Starmer has appointed 25 Labour peers including a number of former senior government and party aides in a move to strengthen his hand in the House of Lords.
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, and Len Duvall, the chair of the London assembly.
