Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

‘Boris’s choices have made the Tories a party for BAME voters’

By Nirj Deva

I TRIED not to whoop with joy last Friday (26) as I saw the unfolding story of Boris Johnson’s appointments to his new cabinet and government.


The chancellor is my friend Sajid Javid, son of a Pakistani Muslim immigrant; the home secretary Priti Patel from a Ugandan Indian Gujarati migrant family who worked with me for Iain Duncan Smith; international development secretary Alok Sharma, whose father Dr Prem Sharma from a distinguished New Delhi family is my very dear friend; Lt Col James Cleverley, now chairman of the Conservative party whose mother was from Sierra Leone; Lord Ahmad in the Foreign Office, of Pakistani immigrant parents; Dr Kwasi Kwaeteng, from an immigrant family from Ghana and one of my successors as chairman of the Bow Group; Nadim Zahawi, minister for industry whose family fled Saddam Hussein’s Iraq; Nusrat Ghani, whose parents were from Azad Kashmir; and the amazing Rishi Sunak, born in 1980, who made the cabinet after four years as an MP.

What a far cry from the journey I had to make in trying to break the glass ceiling of shock, displeasure, wonder and outright amusement when I started to find a seat as a Conservative MP in 1985. The Conservative party in the Commons was then an all-white affair with no MPs of colour, while Labour, prominently represented by Keith Vaz, had a few. But I did not give up on the party as many had done. I kept going and after over 100 seats and interviews, I was selected for Hammersmith in 1985, and Brentford and Isleworth in 1991.

It has been an extraordinary journey fortified by some great people in my life. First by Margaret Thatcher who, after I had lost Hammersmith by 2,000 votes, had arranged for me to stand next to Disraeli’s chair at the Carlton Club at the state opening of parliament’s party. She strode up to me, grabbed my hand, fixed me with that stare and said for all to hear, including my mother: “You are NOT giving up.”

Second by Norman Tebbit who publicly supported me during my marathon round of interviews. Third by Peter and Virginia Bottomley, by Michael Brown then MP, Sir Gerald Howarth, Peter Lilley, and Sir Ivan Lawrence. Finally, Michael Howard who, more than anyone, and later David Cameron, quietly changed the party to accept the modern reality of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Britain, crying out to be more integrated against Labour’s divisiveness.

Now the sheer guts of Boris Johnson, whose children are a quarter Indian, has made sure the Conservatives are the party for BAME voters. We are the real party of One Nation, a party for those who work hard, save, educate their children, for those who are aspirational, eschew handouts and want to improve themselves. Under Boris, these values have come together to propel only one criteria for advancement, namely merit, in a nation of equal opportunity.

 Nirj Deva is the first BAME Tory MP in post-war Britain who has been in politics for more than two decades.

More For You

Will government inaction on science, trade & innovation cost the UK its economic future?

The life sciences and science tech sectors more widely continue to see out migration of companies

iStock

Will government inaction on science, trade & innovation cost the UK its economic future?

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE

As the government wrestles with market backlash and deep business concern from early economic decisions, the layers of economic complexity are building.

The Independent reported earlier in January on the government watchdog’s own assessment of the cost of Brexit - something which is still being fully weighed up, but their estimates show that “the economy will take a 15 per cent hit to trade in the long term”. Bloomberg Economics valued the impact to date (in 2023) at £100bn in lost output each year - values and impact which must be read alongside the now over-reported and repetitively stated “black hole” in government finances, being used to rationalise decisions which are already proving damaging.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Peace in Middle East hinges on Trump’s volatile decisions’

Israeli military vehicles stationed in Nabatieh, Lebanon, last Sunday (26)

‘Peace in Middle East hinges on Trump’s volatile decisions’

CAN the ceasefire endure for any significant length of time? This would go some way to ameliorating the incredible suffering in the region, but does it all hinge on one man, more than the future of the region has ever depended in its entire history?

Ceasefires can’t hold if no progress is made in addressing the underlying issues that led to the conflict in the first place.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deep love for laughter

Pooja K

Deep love for laughter

Pooja K

MY JOURNEY with comedy has been deeply intertwined with personal growth, grief, and selfdiscovery. It stems from learning acceptance and gradually rebuilding the self-confidence I had completely lost over the last few years.

After the sudden and tragic loss of my father to Covid, I was overwhelmed with grief and depression. I had just finished recording a video for my YouTube channel when I received the devastating news. That video was part of a comedy series about how people were coping with lockdown in different ways.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK riots

Last summer’s riots demonstrated how misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric, ignited by a tiny minority of extremists, can lead to violence on our streets

Getty Images

‘Events in 2024 have shown that social cohesion cannot be an afterthought’

THE past year was marked by significant global events, and the death and devastation in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan – with diplomatic efforts failing to achieve peace – have tested our values.

The involvement of major powers in proxy wars and rising social and economic inequalities have deepened divisions and prolonged suffering, with many losing belief in humanity. The rapid social and political shifts – home and abroad – will continue to challenge our values and resilience in 2025 and beyond.

Keep ReadingShow less
Values, inner apartheid, and diet

The author at Mandela-Gandhi Exhibition, Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, South Africa (December 2024)

Values, inner apartheid, and diet

Dr. Prabodh Mistry

In the UK, local governments have declared a Climate Emergency, but I struggle to see any tangible changes made to address it. Our daily routines remain unchanged, with roads and shops as crowded as ever, and life carrying on as normal with running water and continuous power in our homes. All comforts remain at our fingertips, and more are continually added. If anything, the increasing abundance of comfort is dulling our lives by disconnecting us from nature and meaningful living.

I have just spent a month in South Africa, visiting places where Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela lived, including the jails. They both fought against the Apartheid laws imposed by the white ruling community. However, no oppressor ever grants freedom to the oppressed unless the latter rises to challenge the status quo. This was true in South Africa, just as it was in India. Mahatma Gandhi united the people of India to resist British rule for many years, but it was the threat posed by the Indian army, returning from the Second World War and inspired by the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose, that ultimately won independence. In South Africa, the threat of violence led by Nelson Mandela officially ended Apartheid in April 1994, when Mandela was sworn in as the country’s first Black president.

Keep ReadingShow less