Diane Abbott could be given seat in the House of Lords by Starmer in murky 'peace deal'

The Leader of the Opposition was already under fire for parachuting a number of allies into safe Labour seats, including NEC member Luke Akehurst and legal chief Alex Barros-Curtis.

A former MP, who allegedly received an elevation offer, told The Times: “They offered me a seat in the House of Lords because some little boy wanted my seat.”

Another source said: “Peerages started being offered after the general election was called and suddenly there was a flurry of people standing down who had previously said they had every intention of standing.”

Starmer, who consistently pledged to abolish the unelected upper chamber, is expected to flood the House of Lords with new Labour peers if he wins the keys to Downing Street on July 4.

There are 172 Labour and 275 Conservative peers, with the 79 affiliated to the Liberal Democrats and 179 sitting as crossbench members.

Speaking just days before Rishi Sunak called a snap election, Labour’s Lords leader Baroness Smith of Basildon told the public administration and constitutional affairs committee that she wanted to see a House of Lords that has “roughly equal numbers between the government and the major opposition party”.

However, the latest row engulfing Southside appears similar to allegations levied against Tony Blair for appointing “cronies” to the House of Lords.

• ‘Man of many skins!’ Starmer slammed over immigration U-turn as Labour’s ‘vacuous’ leader pledges crackdown
• 'Chucked down the drain!' SNP forced to hand EU £450m as Brexiteers bemoan giving Brussels 'UK cash'
• Nigel Farage plots Tory 'takeover' after 'sarcastic' talk of deal with Rishi Sunak

The Abbott debacle appeared to somewhat derail Starmer’s slick election campaign, although Labour remains around 20 points ahead of the Tories in the opinion polls.

Abbott, who was elected as Britain’s first black female MP in 1987, lost the Labour whip after sending an incendiary letter to The Observer comparing antisemitism to hate received by people with ginger hair.

Following a lengthy internal inquiry, the whip was restored and Starmer eventually buckled to letting Abbott stand on July 4.

The Leader of the Opposition was accused of leading a “cull of left-wingers” after several prominent figures closely connected with Corbyn were barred from standing.

However, The Times has revealed that Abbott was offered a seat in the House of Lords as Labour sought to broker a “peace deal”.

A source claimed: “This just goes to show that we wanted her to retire, not be purged. But we haven’t been going around talking about it.”

A former Labour MP added: “The party is using a carrot and stick approach and either offering MPs peerages as a sweetener or finding dirt to drum them out.”

Chingford & Woodford Green candidate Faiza Shaheen, who cut former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith’s majority to just 1,262 in 2019, is considering standing as an independent candidate.

Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who was a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group, was also barred from contesting the upcoming General Election.

Corbyn spoke out against Starmer’s purge, claiming: “The one thing they all have in common, the people that have been purged, is that they're on the left of the party and have all spoken out in favour of an immediate ceasefire and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”