2024-07-05 09:22:44
Voters in the UK delivered a historic verdict. The Keir Starmer-led Labour Party secured a landslide victory, dethroning Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party after 14 years. Though Sunak, an Indian-origin politician, lost the general election, but the British-Indian community has something to smile about. The 2024 general election in the UK saw a record number of 107 Desi candidates contesting for seats in the House of Commons.
There are a million people who identify themselves as Hindus in the UK and are the third-largest religious group, according to the 2021 Census.
The Labour Party, which was punished by Indian-origin voters in the 2019 election because of its anti-India stance, has made amends under Keir Starmer. It fielded a record number of Indian-origin candidates in this election.
Here are the details of the British-Indian MPs and their respective seats who made it to the House of Commons from both the Conservative and Labour parties.
PRITI PATEL AMONG BRITISH-INDIAN CONSERVATIVES WHO WON
Rishi Sunak, the outgoing Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, has retained his northern England seat of Richmond and Northallerton despite the overall defeat to Labour in the general election.
“To the hundreds of Conservative candidates, thousands of volunteers, and millions of voters. Thank you for your hard work, thank you for your support, and thank you for your vote,” Sunak wrote in a post on X.
Sunak fought till the end for the Conservatives, and his role in the Labour-majority House will soon be clear.
Priti Patel, a Conservative, has retained her Witham seat in Essex in the 2024 UK General Election.
Patel served as Secretary of State for the Home Department from 24 July 2019 to 6 September 2022 and has been the Conservative member of Parliament for Witham since May 2010.
In November 2013, she was appointed as the first-ever UK Indian Diaspora Champion by the Prime Minister.
Shivani Raja, a Conservative candidate, secured the Leicester East seat. Born in Leicester, she attended Herrick Primary, Soar Valley College, and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College.
She graduated with First Class Honours in Cosmetic Science from De Montfort University.
Suella Braverman, a Conservative Party member and Indian-origin politician, secured victory in the Fareham and Waterlooville seat.
In the most recent cabinet reshuffle under Sunak’s leadership, Braverman sparked controversy by stating that the Metropolitan Police were too lenient with pro-Palestine protesters.
She was subsequently replaced by James Cleverly as the interior minister. Braverman was the MP for Fareham from 2015 to 2024 and made history in 2021 as the first Cabinet Minister to have a baby while in office.
Gagan Mohindra, a Conservative, was re-elected from South West Hertfordshire.
He joined the Conservative Party in 2002.
His parents, both hailing from Punjab, immigrated to the United Kingdom before he was born. His paternal grandfather was a member of the British Indian Army.
DHESI AMONG INDIAN-ORIGIN LABOUR CANDIDATES WHO WON
Kanishka Narayan, a Labour Party candidate, defeated Alun Cairns, a former Welsh Secretary. Narayan, who is now Wales’ first MP from a minority ethnic background, relocated to Cardiff from India at the age of 12.
He earned a scholarship to Eton, studied at Oxford and Stanford, and subsequently became a civil servant. His civil service career included roles in the Cabinet Office under David Cameron and the Environment Department under Liz Truss.
Narayan also has private sector experience, providing financial advice to businesses.
Preet Kaur Gill from the Labour Party was re-elected from the Birmingham Edgbaston seat. She is the first British Sikh female member of Parliament and serves as the UK Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health.
“It is an honuor and a privilege to be re-elected as MP for Birmingham Edgbaston. Thank you to everyone who put their trust in me. I will continue to serve the people and place I love,” Preet Kaur Gill wrote in a post on X.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi from the Labour Party was re-elected as the MP for Slough.
He first won the Slough seat in the 2017 General Election with a 17,000 majority and was re-elected in 2019.
Dhesi became the first turbaned Sikh in any European Parliament.
Born in Berkshire, he spent his formative years in Slough, then received most of his primary education in Punjab, India, before returning to the UK at age nine.
Navendu Mishra from the Labour Party won the Stockport seat. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Stockport in the 2019 General Election.
Mishra’s mother is from Gorakhpur, and his father is from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Before entering politics, Mishra worked as a shop-floor trade unionist in Stockport and later became an organiser for the Unison trade union.
Satvir Kaur, a British Indian politician from the Labour Party, secured the Southampton Test seat. She joined the Labour Party in 2011.
uk general election, uk general election 2024, labour party won election, conservative party defeat in UK general election, rishi sunak gets defeat in UK general election, indian origin politician, indian origin politician in uk general election
Source link
