Exclusive: Lord Len Duvall is juggling two demanding roles when he was meant to be putting his feet up
06:40, 02 May 2026
After Len Duvall underwent major heart surgery in 2021, he was preparing to wrap up his esteemed political career.
The Chair of the London Assembly – and the only remaining member who has served since its creation in 2000 – was planning to step down at the next election in 2024. Since then, however, he has not only stepped up his involvement in City Hall affairs, becoming Deputy Chair and then Chair of the Assembly last year. He has also been elevated to the House of Lords.
The veteran Labour politician’s new role was announced late last year as one of 25 peerages by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Instead of retiring to spend time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Lord Duvall now has to balance his time between holding Sir Sadiq Khan to account in City Hall and serving as one of 223 Labour peers in the Lords.
“I was preparing for a different form of life after the next couple of years and planning for that,” Lord Duvall told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in an exclusive interview in his new office.
“Like everybody, I’ve got some great-grandchildren and grandchildren that I particularly want to spend time with. But when this invite came to consider joining the House of Lords, it was pretty special.
“It’s been a long time coming, and being here now inside the Lords is an experience. And the introduction on the day was pretty special for my friends and family and it was a milestone in terms of arriving in the Lords itself.”
Since then, he said, it’s been “a hard grind”, adding: “We were in the middle of lots of votes on legislation, it’s that period of time, and lots of late nights.”
His maiden speech, made in February, came during a debate on the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill. While not one of Lord Duvall’s specialist subjects – the Greenwich and Lewisham Assembly Member has focused on City Hall and policing in his career – he noted that new peers “don’t get much choice” in when they speak for the first time.
“One of the points I made during my maiden speech was about change,” he said.
“That this government was about promoting change. We need to think really seriously about how do we deal with change, how we cope with change, because sometimes it’s imposed on us and sometimes we create [it] in the journey.”
Serving Londoners
Lord Duvall’s opening salvo in the Lords reiterated his desire to continue working “for the benefit not just of London but of the country”.
He is one of nine current and former London Assembly members to serve in the second chamber in Parliament. He is one of three Labour peers in that group, while there are four Lib Dems, one Green and a Conservative.
The peer said he intends to work “cross party” where he can to best serve both the government’s agenda of “change” and, naturally, the capital.
“There are limited opportunities to do that sort of work when you’re trying to push through the government legislation of the day,” he explained.
“But there are opportunities, and the House of Lords is made for that. When it happens, it’s through conversations and a better understanding from each other’s position.
“We all came together recently to celebrate 25 years of the London Assembly – and we all agreed the importance of this institution and what we want the future of it to be.”
Juggling City Hall and the House of Lords
Lord Duvall’s position as Chair of the London Assembly – where he moderates all-member meetings, including Mayor’s Question Time – may come to an end on May 11, when members vote to see who will see out the next one-year term until May 2027.
As a constituency Assembly Member, however, the peer’s work will not end in City Hall – whether it be dealing with casework from constituents, sitting on various committees or holding the Mayor and other figures to account.
It looks likely he will step down in 2028, after which he can dedicate more of his time to the Lords.
He told the LDRS that he still “can’t quite focus” on his new role and more importantly, decide what his exact priorities are.
Lord Duvall added:” I’m still doing the other job, so I’m still a London Assembly Member. I’m committed to seeing out the term, I’m not going to resign, so I’m juggling the two roles.
“Other Assembly Members have done it in the past. It’s not easy, but I think it’s doable, so that is really taking my focus – doing the two tasks.
“Really, at some stage I’m going to be aiming to focus what would I like to do.”
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