London: The UK general election is expected to deliver the most diverse Parliament in the country’s history, including in the number of parliamentarians of Indian heritage likely to be elected from across the nation.
According to an analysis by the British Future think tank, the Labour Party is set to have by far the largest number of ethnic minority MPs if the party wins an overall majority and even more in a landslide scenario.
With around 14 per cent of MPs coming from an ethnic minority background this time, the analysis finds that the new Parliament will be closer than ever to reflecting the diversity of the British electorate.
“This election will see the biggest rise in ethnic minority representation and the most diverse Parliament ever,” said Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future.
“In the space of 40 years, we’ll have gone from zero to one in seven MPs being from an ethnic minority background. Britain is closing the gap between the diversity of Parliament and the electorate much faster than anyone thought possible,” he said.
The last general election in 2019 resulted in 15 MPs of Indian heritage crossing over the line, many of whom are contesting again alongside several first-timers.
Conservative Party MP Alok Sharma and Labour veteran Virendra Sharma are among the most high-profile British Indians not seeking re-election this time, from Reading West and Ealing Southall, respectively.
The latter constituency, with a large Punjabi electorate, has two British Sikh candidates contesting as Independents – Sangeet Kaur Bhail and Jaginder Singh.
Some of the key British Indian candidates to watch in Thursday’s polls include Praful Nargund, who is contesting for the Labour Party in Islington North – the seat of the party’s now-suspended former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is contesting as an Independent candidate.
Jas Athwal is contesting in another Labour stronghold of Iford South, while Baggy Shanker in Derby South, Satvir Kaur in Southampton Test, and Harpreet
Uppal in Huddersfield are contesting more marginal seats for the party.
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