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Keir Starmer has been appointed as the new Prime Minister after Labour’s landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. A record number of around 26 Indian-origin members of Parliament have been elected to the House of Commons in the UK’s general election as results were announced on Friday.
1) Rishi Sunak: Outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak leads the Tory charge of British Indians holding on to their seats, with a decisive win in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire. It would have come as small consolation for the Tory leader, who saw his party haemorrhage over 200 seats as the Labour Party’s landslide victory unfolded.
Other prominent British Indian Tories holding on to their seats included :
2) Suella Braverman : Suella Braverman, the 44-year-old barrister who is of Indian heritage with a Goan-origin father and Tamil-origin mother apologised to the public for the Conservative Party’s performance over the last 14 years after winning the newly-created Fareham and Waterlooville constituency. Braverman has represented the people of Fareham since 2015, being re-elected in 2017 and 2019, on both occasions increasing the share of the vote for the Conservatives. She was sacked in late 2023 by Sunak after she defied No 10 over an article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias in the policing of pro-Palestine protests.
3) Priti Patel : Priti Patel secured a win in Witham in Essex. Born in London in March 1972 to Sushil and Anjana Patel, she went to school in Watford. She studied economics at Keele University, before completing her postgraduate studies at the University of Essex. She has her roots in Tarapur in Gujarat’s Anand district, from where her father Sushil Patel’s family comes. Patel is an ardent Brexiteer who was among the most vocal critics of Theresa May’s Brexit strategy. She was first elected as a Conservative MP for Witham in Essex in 2010 and gained prominence in the then David Cameron-led Tory government as his Indian Diaspora Champion. She was forced to resign from Theresa May’s government after revelations that she had conducted secret meetings with the Israeli government.
4) Claire Coutinho : Sunak’s Goan-origin Cabinet ally, Claire Coutinho secured a win from East Surrey. Her official website details her journey in United Kingdom politics from first being elected as the Conservative MP for East Surrey in December 2019 to finally serving in Cabinet as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
She has a master’s degree in Maths and Philosophy from Oxford and started her career at Merrill Lynch, before pursuing a career in social justiceBritish policy. She also worked within Government as a Special Adviser, including at HM Treasury.
5) Gagan Mohindra : Gagan Mohindra held on to his South West Hertfordshire seat for the Conservatives. Mohindra joined the Conservative Party in 2002 and won his first election as a Parish Councillor in June 2004. In 2019, he was elected as Member of Parliament for South West Hertfordshire. He was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip in September 2023. Previously he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Foreign Secretary since September 2022, PPS to the Home Secretary, and PPS in the Department for Transport.
6) Shivani Raja: Shivani Raja registered a gain for the party in the keenly watched constituency of Leicester East where she was contesting against fellow Indian-origin Labour candidate Rajesh Agrawal. They had both canvassed around the topic of saving the city’s famous Diwali lights from being switched off over council budget cuts, as did former MP Keith Vaz who was contesting as an Independent this time.
Labour Party
7) Seema Malhotra: Seema Malhotra held on to her Feltham and Heston constituency with a comfortable margin. She is the co-Founder & President of the Fabian Women’s Network and was elected as an MP from Feltham and Heston four times between 2011-2024. She has also acted as Shadow Minister for different departments.
8) Valerie Vaz: Goan-origin Valerie Vaz, sister of Keith Vaz, won in Walsall and Bloxwich. Qualifying as a solicitor in 1984, she eventually set up a community law firm Townsend Vaz and became a Deputy District Judge. In May 2010, Valerie was elected MP for Walsall South representing the Labour Party, and re-elected in May 2015, June 2017 with increased majorities and 2019. Valerie served as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and member of the Shadow Cabinet from October 2016 to May 2021. In October 2019 Valerie was appointed a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council and received a Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of West London.
9) Lisa Nandy : Lisa Nandy won with a big margin in Wigan. She worked as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development and was elected in the Parliament four times between 2010-2024. Nandy took her first degree at Newcastle University and then pursued an MSc in Politics and Government from University of Birkbeck. She worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at The Children’s Society from 2005 to 2010 and served as a Labour councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council from 2006 to 2010. She won for Wigan in 2010 and became the constituency’s first female MP and one of the first Asian female MPs.
10) Preet Kaur Gill : British Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill defeated Tory first-timer Ashvir Sangha in Birmingham. She was the Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health in September 2023. She is UK’s first female Sikh MP and was a social worker and a Councillor, and Cabinet Member for Public Health and Protection prior to entering Parliament.
11) Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi : British Singh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi won back his seat for Labour in Slough. Born in Berkshire, Dhesi received most of his primary education in the Punjab before returning to the UK when he was nine years old. He studied Mathematics with Management at University College London, MSc Applied Statistics at Oxford University, before an MPhil at Cambridge in South Asian history and its connections with Great Britain. He was elected as the MP for Slough, winning in the 2017 General Election with a 17,000 majority and later re-elected in 2019. In Parliament, Tan was the Shadow Minister for Exports.
12) Navendu Mishra : Navendu Mishra registered a win from Stockport. Navendu Mishra was elected as the Member of Parliament for Stockport at the 2019 General Elections. He worked as a shop-floor trade unionist in Stockport before entering politics and later became an organiser for the trade union Unsion.
13) Nadia Whittome : Nadia Whittome was among some Labour MPs who were re-elected with convincing majorities. She won from Nottingham East. Whittome was elected to Parliament in 2019 aged 23, becoming the UK’s youngest MP. She studied law at the University of Nottingham and worked as a care worker during that period. She also worked as a hate crime worker. In 2020 she was jointly awarded Pink News’ Politician of the Year and in 2023 she was awarded Diva Magazine’s Unsung Hero of the Year.
14) Jas Athwal : Jas Athwal was elected from Ilford South. Living in Ilford since 52 years, he has won three elections for Labour party. He is the leader of Redbridge Council.
15) Baggy Shanker : Baggy Shankar secured a win from Derby South. Working as a trade unionist in the manufacturing and civil aerospace sectors for over three decades, he is a leader of Derby City Council.
16) Satvir Kaur : Satvir Kaur won from Southampton Test. She graduated from both the University of Southampton and Solent University, first in History and Politics and then in Law. In 2011, she was elected to Southampton City Council in Shirley and selecting to become a Parliamentary candidate in 2022.
17) Harpreet Uppal : Harpreet Uppal was elected from Huddersfield. According to her LinkedIn profile, she completed her masters in International Politics from University of Bradford in 2005 entered politics as a Labour Councillor, Ashbrow ward, & Chair of Kirklees Economy and Neighbourhood Scrutiny Panel in 2018. She also worked as an
18) Warinder Juss : Warinder Juss secured a win from Wolverhampton West. Juss became a part of Labour Party more than 25 years ago and has held various positions in the party. He worked at a trade union law firm for over 31 years “acting only for the injured”.
19) Gurinder Josan : Gurinder Josan registered a win from Smethwick. According to his LinkedIn profile, he got his Bachelor of Science in Physics from University of London in 1993 and has been with Labour Party since 1998.
20) Kanishka Narayan : Kanishka Narayan has been elected from Vale of Glamorgan. He has studied at Oxford and Stanford and advised ministers on domestic public policy, as Senior Adviser at the Cabinet Office and as Expert Adviser to Britain’s Environment Secretary. He also advised the Labour Party frontbench as Head of Tech Policy.
21) Sonia Kumar : Sonia Kumar was elected from Dudley. She is Dudley’s first-ever female MP.
22) Sureena Brackenbridge : Sureena Brackenbridge registered a win from Wolverhampton North East. She also served as Mayoress in Wolverhampton North East in 2021-22.
23) Kirith Entwistle: Kirith Entwistle was elected from Bolton North East. She worked for a charity called WaveLength and is Bolton North East’s first female MP.
24) Jeevun Sandher : Jeevun Sandher was elected from Loughborough. He has worked as an Economist, trade union rep, and a teacher. He has a PhD in Political Economy from King’s College London as well as an MSc in Economic Development and Policy Analysis and a BA in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Nottingham.
25) Sojan Joseph : Sojan Joseph was elected from Ashford. A nurse from Kerala, who migrated to the United Kingdom two decades ago, he will be the first Keralite to get elected to the British Parliament.
26) Munira Wilson: For the Liberal Democrats, who had a good election all round gaining over 60 seats, Munira Wilson won back her Twickenham constituency.
