Keir Starmer may award resignation honours when he leaves No 10

Keir Starmer May Award Resignation Honours as Leadership Transition Approaches

Keir Starmer may award resignation honours when he leaves No 10, signaling a potential reversal of his previous stance. The prime minister has indicated he could compile a list of awards for political allies upon his departure, which would mark a notable change from the position he took three years ago. Starmer faced questions on multiple occasions about whether he would follow the traditional practice of distributing honours when he steps down in just over ten days, with Andy Burnham poised to succeed him.

Changing Position on Honours Tradition

During his time as opposition leader in 2023, Starmer was vocal in his criticism of Rishi Sunak's decision to permit Boris Johnson to bestow a series of awards—including knighthoods—upon political allies. He argued that such a practice was difficult to defend given the circumstances surrounding Johnson's exit from office. When questioned about his own intentions at that time, Starmer was unequivocal.

"No. There are other opportunities … Tony Blair didn't have a resignation list. It's very hard to justify … there are other avenues for that and I think it's easier to be clear about this and simply say, no, I wouldn't do it."

However, during the Nato summit held in Ankara, reporters pressed Starmer on whether he maintained his original position. His response was measured: "We'll look at that in the usual course of things." When asked again, he provided the identical answer, leaving the matter open to interpretation. Under traditional practice, outgoing prime ministers retain the authority to nominate individuals for honours following their departure from Downing Street. Nevertheless, any such list requires approval from both the incoming leader and the House of Lords appointments commission.

Burnham's Path to Downing Street

With nominations now open in the uncontested Labour leadership contest to succeed Starmer, Burnham has secured 322 nominations—representing 80% of the parliamentary party—making his entry into No 10 nearly certain. This total leaves only 81 Labour MPs capable of nominating an alternative candidate, which is the minimum required to reach the ballot. Convention dictates that the outgoing leader does not participate in nominations, meaning there are insufficient undeclared MPs to support another contender.

Prominent figures who have nominated Burnham include Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Yvette Cooper, Ed Miliband, Angela Rayner, Lucy Powell, Al Carns, Wes Streeting, and Louise Haigh. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and the housing secretary, Steve Reed, remain the two most visible cabinet ministers who have yet to nominate Burnham, though they retain time to do so. The nomination process commenced on Thursday morning, with numerous MPs visiting the parliamentary Labour party offices in Westminster to complete their forms.

Beyond parliamentary support, a new leader must secure nominations from at least 5% of all local branches or from at least three party-affiliated groups, with a minimum of two being unions. Burnham has already obtained the backing of both Unite and the Fire Brigades Union. Starmer expressed confidence in Burnham's future prospects: "Yes, I do. I have known him a long time, I've worked with him when I first came to parliament, in his team directly."