The former Burnley MP who left in disgrace in 2010 has been given a peerage in the House of Lords by Sir Keir Starmer.
Kitty Ussher was elected in the 2005 general election and held the seat until 2010 for Labour, but faced scrutiny after it was revealed she dodged up to £17,000 in capital gains tax by “flipping” her registered main home when she moved house in Burnley in 2007.
Additionally, a Telegraph investigation found she was inquiring about claiming for around £20,000 worth of renovations to her London home, a property she had owned for several years before becoming an MP.
Having served as an Economic Secretary to the Treasury in Gordon Brown’s government, she said afterwards that she would step down as an MP for “family reasons”.
During her time in Parliament, she worked on economic and industrial policy and took part in committees on the 2006 Companies Act and Finance Bills.
In later biographical notes, she highlighted that starting the campaign led to a direct rail link between Burnley and Manchester and efforts to help bring a university campus to the town.
She was named amongst 26 new peers, 16 of whom were named by Keir Starmer ahead of his resignation, despite having previously said he would not hand out any resignation honours.
Other appointees include London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and former Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Cathy Ashley.
Downing Street previously said it was “normal practice” for prime ministers to recommend individuals for peerages, following reports Sir Keir could pack the unelected chamber with new Labour peers before leaving office.
Labour has previously accused the Tories of having “stuffed” the red benches while in power, enabling the party to now frustrate the Government’s legislative plans in opposition.
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Before winning the 2024 general election, Sir Keir argued the House of Lords should be abolished, and said honours should be for “public service, not Tory cronies”.
In office, the Government passed the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, putting an end to seats being available for hereditary peers by virtue of their family ties.
There have been long-standing concerns about the size of the House and calls to reduce its membership, which, excluding the latest list, stands at 772, compared with MPs who are capped at 650.
Figures show the Conservatives remain the largest bloc in the Lords, with 246 peers compared with Labour’s 216, before accounting for the incoming peers.
There are 155 crossbench peers and 74 from the Liberal Democrats.
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