Bhubaneswar: In the recently-concluded general elections in the United Kingdom (UK), as many as 26 MPs of Indian origin have been elected to the House of Commons. The results were announced on Friday.
Here’s more about these MPs:
1) Rishi Sunak: The leader of the Conservative Party and the outgoing Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has managed to win in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire.
2) Suella Braverman : The 44-year-old barrister was born to a Goan-origin father and Tamil-origin mother. She won the newly-created Fareham and Waterlooville constituency. Braverman has been an MP from Fareham since 2015, being re-elected in 2017 and 2019. Last year, she was sacked as she defied No 10 over an article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias while dealing with the pro-Palestine protests.
3) Priti Patel : Priti Patel won Witham in Essex. Her father, Sushil Patel’s family hails from Anand district in Gujarat. Patel was one of the most vocal critics of Brexit strategy. She was first elected as a Conservative MP in 2010. She was forced to resign from Theresa May’s government. It was alleged that she had conducted secret meetings with the Israeli government.
4) Claire Coutinho : This Goan-origin Conservative MP secured victory from East Surrey. She became an MP in 2019 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
She also worked within the government as a Special Adviser, including at HM Treasury.
5) Gagan Mohindra : Conservative MP, Gagan Mohindra, held on to his South West Hertfordshire seat for the party. He won his first election as a Parish Councillor in June 2004. In 2019, he was elected as MP for South West Hertfordshire. He was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip in September 2023.
6) Shivani Raja: Shivani Raja defeated Indian-origin Labour party candidate, Rajesh Agrawal, to win the constituency of Leicester East.
7) Seema Malhotra: Seema Malhotra managed to win her Feltham and Heston constituency with a comfortable margin. She is the co-Founder and president of the Fabian Women’s Network. She has been a four-time MP since 2011. She had also acted as Shadow Minister in different departments.
8) Valerie Vaz: The Goan-origin Labour Party MP won in Walsall and Bloxwich. Qualifying as a solicitor in 1984, she went on to become a Deputy District Judge. In May 2010, she was elected MP for Walsall South representing the party. She was re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Valerie served as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and member of the Shadow Cabinet from October 2016 to May 2021.
9) Lisa Nandy : Lisa Nandy, whose father has his roots in Kolkata, won with a big margin in Wigan. She worked as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development. She was elected in the Parliament four times between 2010-2024. She is the first female MP from her constituency. She will be serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom in Keir’s Cabinet.
10) Preet Kaur Gill : She is a British Sikh MP of the Labour Party, who defeated 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.
11) Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi : Labour Party’s British Singh MP Tanmanjeet won back his seat in Slough. He was first elected from the constituency in 2017 and later re-elected in 2019. He was the Shadow Minister for Exports.
12) Navendu Mishra : He has registered a victory from Stockport. He was elected MP in 2019. He worked as a shop-floor trade unionist in Stockport before joining politics.
13) Nadia Whittome : Nadia Whittome was re-elected with a convincing majority from Nottingham East. At the age of 23, she was elected to Parliament in 2019. She became the UK’s youngest MP.
14) Jas Athwal : Jas Athwal was elected from Ilford South. He has won three elections representing the Labour party. He is the leader of Redbridge Council.
15) Baggy Shanker : Baggy Shankar won from Derby South. He is a leader of Derby City Council.
16) Satvir Kaur : She won from Southampton Test. She received degrees in History, Politics and Law from the University of Southampton and Solent University.
17) Harpreet Uppal : Harpreet Uppal was elected from Huddersfield. She entered politics as a Labour Councillor, Ashbrow ward, and Chair of Kirklees Economy and Neighbourhood Scrutiny Panel in 2018.
18) Warinder Juss : Warinder Juss won from Wolverhampton West. He has been with the Labour Party since 25 years.
19) Gurinder Josan : Gurinder Josan emerged victorious from Smethwick. He has been with the Labour Party since 1998.
20) Kanishka Narayan : He has been elected from Vale of Glamorgan representing the Labour Party. He had advised ministers on domestic public policy, as Senior Adviser at the Cabinet Office and as Expert Adviser to Britain’s Environment Secretary.
21) Sonia Kumar : Sonia Kumar was elected from Dudley.
22) Sureena Brackenbridge : She won from Wolverhampton North East representing the Labour Party. She had also served as Mayoress in Wolverhampton North East between 2021 and 2022.
23) Kirith Entwistle: She got elected from Bolton North East.
24) Jeevun Sandher : An economist, he was elected from Loughborough. He has a PhD in Political Economy from King’s College London as well as an MSc in Economic Development and Policy Analysis.
25) Sojan Joseph : A nurse from Kerala, she was elected from Ashford representing the Labour Party. She had migrated to the UK two decades ago.
26) Munira Wilson: Representing the Liberal Democrats, Wilson won back her Twickenham constituency.
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