Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday named a London-based professional who chairs the Labor diaspora group Indian Labour, as one of 30 new political peers he has nominated for the House of Lords, and will be joined by King Charles III’s approval.
Krish Raval, who was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2018 for services to leadership education and interfaith cohesion, is founder and director of Faith in Leadership, The organization, based at the University of Oxford, promotes interfaith relationships.
He is now expected to join Labour’s seat in the House of Lords as a life peer, joining Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray and former Labor shadow minister for Sri Lanka heritage Tangam de Bonnell. Thangam Debbonnaire) together.
A Downing Street statement announcing the nomination this week read: “The King is pleased to announce his intention to grant a British life peerage.”
The nominations will be scrutinized by the independent House of Lords Appointments Committee (HOLAC) before the Prime Minister can formally recommend them to the King.
This is followed by a legal document or summons issued by Parliament, and a Letter Patent issued by the Sovereign, conferring a life title on the new member, enabling him or her to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
Labor nominated 30 members to the upper house, a move seen as an attempt to balance the numbers in the upper house, where the Conservatives have the largest number.
Once new nominations are approved, including six from opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenock and two from the Liberal Democrats, the ruling Labor party is expected to have 217 peers, the Conservatives 279, and the Liberal Democrats 80 people.
While Badenoch nominated former deputy prime minister Therese Coffey, the Liberal Democrats have British-Pakistani MP Shaffaq Mohammed on their list. According to reports, former Prime Minister Sunak is expected to be nominated for the House of Lords later.
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