Former cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald is to be given a life peerage by the King.
Wormald, who was removed from his role as cab sec and head of the civil service earlier this year, is one of 26 nominees who are set to join the House of Lords.
Nominated for a crossbench peerage, Wormald was named by Starmer as cab sec and head of the civil service in December 2024, coming into the role after eight years as permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care. He served in the position until February 2026, when he was replaced by Dame Antonia Romeo as the government’s top civil servant, following briefings that Starmer had “buyer’s remorse” over the appointment.
Wormald spent 35 years in the civil service, starting his career in the Department of Education and Science in 1991 where he undertook a range of roles including principal private secretary to two secretaries of state. From 2006-2012 he held director general roles at the Department of Communities and Local Government and at the Cabinet Office, including as the head of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat and DG for the deputy prime minister. He became perm sec at the DfE in 2012 and then DHSC perm sec in 2016. Wormald received a knighthood in 2017 for public service.
Upon his departure as cab sec and head of the civil service in February, Wormald said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as a civil servant for the past 35 years, and a particular distinction to lead the service as cabinet secretary. I want to place on record my sincere thanks to the extraordinary civil servants, public servants, ministers, and advisers I have worked with. Our country is fortunate to have such dedicated individuals devoted to public service, and I wish them every success for the future."
Alongside Wormald, other political peerages which the King has signified his intention of conferring include investigatory powers commissioner Sir Brian Leveson (also crossbench); former senior civil servant and economic adviser Dr Tim Leunig; ex-Food Standards Agency chief Tim J Smith; mayor of London Sadiq Khan; and Gordon Brown-era economic secretary to the Treasury Kitty Ussher.