FORMER Dudley North MP Ian Austin has been appointed to the House of Lords in the government's honours list.

The former Labour MP, who represented the seat from 2005 until 2019, will take his place in the Lords having been recommended by Boris Johnson.

Mr Austin said the appointment was a "huge honour and a great privilege" and he would use the platform to speak up for Dudley and the Black Country.

He said: “This is a huge honour and a great privilege. Who would have thought a kid from Russells Hall School and the Dudley School would end up in the House of Lords.

“I want to thank local people for giving me the greatest privilege of all, which was representing the place I grew up in the House of Commons.

"This would never have been possible without the work we were able to do together over the last 14 years and I promise local people I will use this platform to carry on speaking up for Dudley and the Black Country in Parliament.”

Mr Austin is one of 32 new peers and one of five former Labour MPs to be elevated to the upper chamber including John Woodcock, Kate Hoey, Gisela Stuart and Frank Field.

A vocal critic of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Austin resigned from the Labour Party last February before standing down as MP ahead of December's general election.