The UK’s newly-elected Prime Minister has planned to lead a diverse parliament with 15 British-Pakistani members of parliament in the team.
There is a a significant increase in a number of women and individuals from ethnic minorities in the parliament.
The Labour Party candidates Afzal Khan, Imran Hussain, Naz Shah, Yasmin Qureshi, Muhammad Yasin, Tahir Ali, Shabana Mahmood, Zarah Sultana, Dr Zubir Ahmed, Naushabah Khan, and Dr Rosena Allin-Khan were reported to have won their respective electoral contests.
In addition to the Labour Party victories, independent candidates Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain, as well as Conservative candidates Saqib Bhatti and Nusrat Ghani, also secured wins in the election. This contributed to increased diversity in the Parliament.
The latest election results show that Black, Asian, and ethnic minority lawmakers will represent approximately 13% of the House of Commons, up from 10% in the 2019 parliamentary election, according to a Reuters report. This will be the largest-ever share of ethnic minority members in the lower house, based on an analysis by the think tank British Future.
However, the share of ethnic minority representation still does not fully reflect the diversity of the population and electorate in England and Wales, where around 18% of the people come from Black, Asian, mixed, or other ethnic minority backgrounds, according to official data.
“The 2024 election is a landmark for representation, with record diversity in our parliament, closer than ever to that of the electorate,” British Future director Sunder Katwala said.
“The irony that it coincides with the end of Rishi Sunak’s premiership as the UK’s first British Asian Prime Minister only underlines how ethnic diversity has become a new norm across the main political parties,” Katwala added.
The incoming Parliament will include a record 242 female lawmakers, an increase of 22 compared to the 2019 election.
When Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black female lawmaker, entered Parliament in 1987, there were only 41 women in the House of Commons. Abbott, who was re-elected to the northeast London seat she has held for 37 years, will now become the “mother of the house,” which is regarded as an honorary title given to the longest-serving female member.
The incoming governing party, Labour, will have by far the largest number of ethnic minority MPs, with 66 out of the 87 elected. However, this diversity is not expected to be fully reflected in the top cabinet positions selected by Labour leader Keir Starmer.
Some ethnic minority Labour figures, such as Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister David Lammy, Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood, and Energy Minister Ed Miliband, are expected to be named to Starmer’s top team. However, Thangam Debonnaire, who was anticipated to join the senior leadership, lost her seat.
In contrast, the outgoing Conservative Party had a stronger record for diversity in its ministerial-level representation. The Conservatives have produced the country’s first British-Indian Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, as well as all three of Britain’s female Prime Ministers.
Despite the Labour Party’s greater ethnic diversity among its MPs, the incoming government will see Rachel Reeves become Britain’s first female Chancellor of the Exchequer, or finance minister.
Read more
Sunak concedes defeat in UK election as Labour gets huge majority
