Former Bristol Mayor takes up seat in Lords
Marvin Rees will now be known as Lord Rees of Easton
Former mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees has taken his seat in the House of Lords for the first time, after being given a peerage by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Lord Rees of Easton as he will now be known, wore traditional scarlet robes for a short introduction ceremony during which he swore allegiance to the King.
He was supported by fellow Labour peer Lord Boateng and independent crossbencher Lord Woolley of Woodford.
Among those looking on in the upper chamber was Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Lord Rees was elected mayor of Bristol in 2016 and held the post until May last year when it was abolished following a referendum.
During his last few months as Mayor, Lord Rees campaigned to become Labour's choice for MP in the new Bristol North East constituency, but lost out on selection to Damien Egan who went on to win the seat.
It was suggested by political commentators at the time that if Labour won the General Election, Lord Rees would likely be offered a seat in the upper chamber, which was quickly proved true.
Also given a seat was former Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire, who lost the Bristol Central constituency to Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer.
The House of Lords is considered controversial as its members are able to vote on and amend prospective new laws but are largely selected not elected and hold their seats for life.
A few peerages remain hereditary, meaning they pass from parent to child down family trees, though most of these were abolished in 1999.
Sir Keir Starmer has previously pledged to abolish the chamber entirely.