UK Election Sees Record Wins For Indian-Origin Leaders As 26 MPs Elected To House Of Commons

UK Election 2024: The Labour Party secured a landslide victory in the 2024 UK general election, ending Conservative rule. In this election, 26 British Indians have been elected to the House of Commons.

UK Election 2024: The Labour Party of the UK swept to power after registering a landslide victory in the general election of 2024 with incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party being dethroned. In the 650-member House of Commons, the Labour Party crossed the 326-seat threshold, ending 14 years of Conservative government.

In this election, there are a number of British Indians who have also registered their victory. Around 26 Indian-origin members of Parliament have been elected to the UK's House of Commons, marking a record number, as results were declared on Friday, news agency PTI reported. Despite an overall harsh outcome for the Conservative Party, several Indian-origin Tories retained their seats.

Indian-Origin Members In UK Parliament

Outgoing PM Rishi Sunak led the Conservatives' effort, securing his seat in Richmond and Northallerton, Yorkshire, with a decisive victory. However, the Tory party suffered significant losses, losing over 200 seats to Labour's overwhelming win.

After the election result, Sunak took full responsibility for the electoral loss, expressing regret to the candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but ultimately fell short. "I have heard your anger, disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss," he acknowledged. 

Other prominent leaders who retained their seats included former home secretaries Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, and Sunak’s Cabinet ally, Claire Coutinho.

Gagan Mohindra held his South West Hertfordshire seat, while Shivani Raja secured a gain in Leicester East, contesting against Indian-origin Labour candidate Rajesh Agrawal. Both had campaigned on preserving the city’s famous Diwali lights amidst council budget cuts, as did former MP Keith Vaz, who ran as an Independent. Significant losses for the Conservatives included Shailesh Vara, who narrowly lost his North West Cambridgeshire seat to Labour, and Ameet Jogia, who lost the Tory-held Hendon seat in London to Labour.

Reflecting the overall election results, the Labour Party had the highest number of winning Indian diaspora candidates. Seema Malhotra retained her Feltham and Heston seat comfortably, while Valerie Vaz, sister of Keith Vaz, won in Walsall and Bloxwich. Lisa Nandy secured a big victory in Wigan.

British Sikh MPs Preet Kaur Gill and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi secured their seats for Labour in Birmingham Edgbaston and Slough, respectively. Other re-elected Labour MPs included Navendu Mishra (Stockport) and Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East).

Newcomers from the Labour party made a significant impact, with Jas Athwal (Ilford South), Baggy Shanker (Derby South), Satvir Kaur (Southampton Test), Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield), Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West), Gurinder Josan (Smethwick), Kanishka Narayan (Vale of Glamorgan), Sonia Kumar (Dudley), Sureena Brackenbridge (Wolverhampton North East), Kirith Entwistle (Bolton North East), Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough), and Sojan Joseph (Ashford) among those set to join Parliament next week.

For the Liberal Democrats, Munira Wilson regained her Twickenham constituency, contributing to their overall gain of over 60 seats.

A notable seat on Labour's watch list was Islington North, where former party leader Jeremy Corbyn, running as an Independent, defeated his British Indian Labour challenger Praful Nargund.