Labour hand Tory Brexit rebel David Gauke a peerage to Conservative fury as Starmer continues to stuff the Lords

By CLAIRE ELLICOTT, WHITEHALL EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 23:20, 7 May 2026 | Updated: 23:22, 7 May 2026 Labour has nominated a former Tory Brexit rebel for a knighthood - to the fury of Kemi Badenoch. David Gauke, who was suspended by the Conservatives for opposing a no-deal Brexit, has been put forward for a knighthood by Sir Keir Starmer. The former justice secretary under Theresa May was suspended from the party by Boris Johnson in 2019. He stood as an independent at the general election and urged voters to support Liberal Democrat candidates to prevent a Tory majority. After losing his seat, he was appointed by Labour to run an independent sentencing review into prison overcrowding by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood last year. The Prime Minister has now put him forward for a knighthood in the King's annual birthday honours list, according to the Financial Times. Tory leader Ms Badenoch was said to be 'absolutely livid' at the news that the 'Tory turncoat' had been nominated by Labour. A Tory source said: 'She wouldn't have him anywhere near any list. Starmer even snuck it through a random honours committee to stop Kemi vetoing it. 'He stood against the Conservatives, now he's doing Labour's bidding on sentencing and bagged himself a knighthood. Total Starmer stitch-up.' Labour hand 'Tory wet' Gauke, who quit in Boris Brexit wars, a peerage to Conservative fury as Starmer continues to stuff the Lords  Sir Keir's appointments come despite him once pledging to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected chamber. Since then, he has packed the upper chamber with his supporters – among them his former communications director Matthew Doyle, who it emerged had campaigned for a paedophile. Others put forward for gongs include Jessica Morden, chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, who has reportedly been nominated for a damehood. Labour MP Jim McMahon has been proposed for a knighthood as has former chair of the Tory Party Greg Hands, according to the FT. Other figures from the world of business have also been nominated for knighthood and damehoods, it said. These include CS Venkatakrishnan, the boss of Barclays, Jane Fraser, the boss of Citigroup and David Schwimmer, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group. Andrew Mitchell, the retired chief executive of Thames Tideway, and Alastair King, former Lord Mayor of the City of London are said to be in line for knighthoods. Energy bosses including Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF Energy, will reportedly be made CBE, as well as Chris Hulatt and Simon Rogerson, co-founders of Octopus Investments. Milena Mondini de Focatiis, head of FTSE 100 insurer Admiral since 2021, will also be made CBE, it reported. The proposed nominations are yet to be finalised and approved by Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, the paper reported. The Cabinet Office, which oversees the honours nomination process, said: 'We do not comment on speculation regarding honours.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.