Nus Ghani

Wealden (2015–2024)

David Wheeldon

​

(m. 2002)​

Nusrat Ghani MP
Official portrait, 2019
Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Chairman of Ways and Means
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 July 2024
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2015
Children	1
Alma mater	Birmingham City University University of Leeds
Website	Official website

Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani ^[1] (born 1 September 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sussex Weald since 2024, having represented the predecessor constituency Wealden from 2015 to 2024. ^[2] She has served as Chairman of Ways and Means, the senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons since 2024.

Ghani served as Minister of State for Europe in 2024. ^[3] She has previously served as Minister of State for Industry and Economic Security and Minister of State for the Investment Security Unit. ^{[4] [5]} In January 2018, she became the first female Muslim minister to speak from the House of Commons despatch box. ^[6]

From 2018 to 2020, Ghani was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation and Maritime and a Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury under prime ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson. ^[7] After having served as vice-chair of the 1922 Committee, she was appointed Minister of State for Science and Investment Security by Liz Truss in September 2022. ^[8]

Early life and career

Ghani was born in Kashmir ^[9] on 1 September 1972, the daughter of parents from Azad Kashmir. ^{[10] [11]} Ghani was raised in Birmingham, England in a working-class background and educated at Bordesley Green Girls' School. She studied at Birmingham City University, graduating with a BA in government and politics, and later gained a master's degree at Leeds University in international relations. ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]}

She was employed by the charities Age UK and Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and later by the BBC World Service. ^[16]

Ghani first stood as a parliamentary candidate for Birmingham Ladywood at the 2010 general election, finishing third. ^[16]

Parliamentary career

Following the announcement of sitting MP Charles Hendry's retirement at the next election, Ghani was selected in December 2013 at an open primary in which anyone on the electoral register in Wealden could attend and vote. ^[17] The primary attracted nearly 400 residents. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21]} In the 2015 general election Ghani became the first female MP to hold the seat, being elected with a majority of 22,967. ^[22] In the 2017 general election Ghani won 61.2% of the votes, increasing her majority to 23,628. ^[22]

In July 2015, she was appointed as a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee and served until 2017. ^{[23] [12]} In 2016, Ghani worked with Barnardo's, the UK's oldest children's charity, to undertake an independent inquiry into harmful child sexual behaviour. ^[24]

In July 2017, Ghani was promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Home Office. ^[25] Ghani was involved in producing reports on home affairs, security, hate crime, policing and immigration. ^[26] That year, she also chaired the Government's Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network. ^[27]

As a supporter of Brexit, in December 2017 she described Sir John Sawers, the ex-MI6 chief, as providing only "gloom and doom" about Brexit. ^{[28] [15]}

In January 2018, Ghani was appointed an Assistant Whip and a Minister within the Department for Transport, including responsibility for shipping. Ghani was the first female Muslim minister to speak from the House of Commons despatch box. During the 2020 British cabinet reshuffle, Ghani was dismissed from government and replaced by Kelly Tolhurst in the Department for Transport. She had earlier been discussed as a contender to oversee the High Speed 2 rail line construction. ^[29] While without ministerial office, the MP acted as paid independent chairperson of the supervisory board of the Belfast Maritime Consortium, founded by Artemis Technologies, which attracted some criticism. ^{[30] [31]}

Although she voted for the second COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Ghani was a steering committee member of the lockdown-sceptic COVID Recovery Group, a group of Conservative MPs who opposed the UK government's December 2020 lockdown. ^[32]

In September 2020, Ghani "launched an inquiry with the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee exploring how it can look at the UK Uyghur supply chain." ^[33] The report outlined a series of recommendations to address the use of Uyghur forced labour in UK business supply chains. ^[34] Ghani was instrumental in the cross-party campaign for the introduction of the Genocide Amendment to the Trade Bill. ^[35] On 26 March 2021, as a consequence of Ghani's condemnation of the People's Republic of China's treatment of the Uyghurs, it was announced that Ghani was one of five MPs to be sanctioned by China. ^[36] The sanctions were condemned by the Prime Minister and led the Foreign Secretary to summon the Chinese ambassador. ^{[37] [38]} On 22 April 2021, Ghani tabled a Motion before the House of Commons declaring that Parliament recognises that China is perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs. This motion was passed unanimously. ^[39]

As of January 2022, she was a vice-chair of the 1922 Committee. ^[40]

In January 2022, Ghani said she was dismissed as a transport minister in 2020 because she was a Muslim. She said that a government whip had told her that, in the Downing Street meeting that decided her removal, her Muslimness was raised as an issue. ^[15] The Conservative Chief whip, Mark Spencer, came forward as the person who spoke to Ghani and said the allegations were untrue. ^[41] The Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the allegations were serious and called on Ghani to make a formal complaint in order to allow an investigation to take place. ^[42]

On 21 November 2022, Ghani became industry minister, the fourth holder of the post in 2022 and the ninth in four years, succeeding Jackie Doyle-Price. ^{[43] [44]} On 26 March 2024, Ghani replaced Leo Docherty as Minister of State for Europe, her previous role being taken by Alan Mak. ^{[45] [46]}

For the 2024 general election on 4 July, the Wealden seat's boundaries were redrawn as Sussex Weald, for which Ghani was elected, with a lower majority. ^[47] On 23 July 2024 Ghani was elected Deputy Speaker in the House of Commons. ^[48]

Personal life

Ghani married David Wheeldon in 2002 and has one child. ^{[15] [12]}

Notes

1. Minister of State for Industry and Investment Security from October 2022 to February 2023.

References

1. "No. 61230". The London Gazette . 18 May 2015. p. 9121.
2. "Nusrat Ghani MP". Parliament of the United Kingdom.
3. "Ministerial Appointments: 26 March 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
4. "Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
5. "Minister of State (Minister for Industry and Investment Security) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
6. "Nus Ghani is first Muslim woman minister to speak in Commons". BBC News. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
7. Walker, Peter (9 January 2018). "Theresa May's junior ministerial reshuffle: who's in and who's out". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 January 2018.
8. "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
9. "Nus Ghani is first Muslim woman minister to speak in Commons". BBC News. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
10. "Kashmir origin woman Nusrat Ghani elected as UK's Parliament member". Only Kashmir. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
11. "Nusrat Ghani, A Pakistani Origin MP In UK Will Be First Muslim Woman To Address House Of Commons". Indiatimes. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
12. "Ghani, Nusrat, MP (C) Wealden, since 2015". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u284015. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 23 January 2022.
13. Haque, Mozammel (May 2015). "British Muslims and the UK General Elections 2015". The Muslim Weekly. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
14. "Nusrat Ghani MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
15. Wheeler, Caroline; Urwin, Rosamund; Pogrund, Gabriel (22 January 2022). "Nusrat Ghani: I was sacked as a minister 'because I was a Muslim'" . The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 22 January 2022.
16. "My life's story is not one of a traditional politician". Nus Ghani Parliamentary Candidate for Wealden. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
17. "Nus Ghani chosen by Tories to stand for Wealden". Uckfield News. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
18. "RESULT: Conservative Nus Ghani wins Wealden seat". Kent and Sussex Courier. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
19. "Nusrat Ghani selected in open primary to succeed Charles Hendry MP as Wealden Conservative Candidate". Wealden Conservatives. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
20. "UK Polling Report - UKPR ELECTION GUIDE - Wealden". ukpollingreport.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
21. "Nus Ghani for Wealden". wealdenconservatives.com. Wealden Conservatives. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
22. "Election 2017: Wealden parliamentary constituency". BBC News . 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
23. "Home Affairs Committee: Committee membership announced". Parliament.UK. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
24. "Now I know it was wrong: Report of the parliamentary inquiry into support and sanctions for children who display harmful sexual behaviour" (PDF). Barnados.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
25. Dods People (3 July 2017). "Latest civil service & public affairs moves". Civil Service World . Dods (Group) PLC.
26. "Publications - Home Affairs Committee". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
27. "Network established to encourage diversity in apprenticeships - GOV.UK". Gov.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
28. Wintour, Patrick (19 December 2017). "Brexit will cause loss of influence on scale of 1970s, says ex-MI6 chief". The Guardian.
29. Mason, Rowena; Proctor, Kate (13 February 2020). "Boris Johnson's reshuffle: who's in, who's out, at a glance". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
30. "Governance". Belfast: Belfast Maritime Consortium. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
31. Murphy, Simon (8 October 2020). "Former Tory minister criticised for new job at firm she lobbied for". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
32. Hope, Christopher (10 November 2020). "Tory lockdown rebels unite to form Covid Recovery Group". The Telegraph.
33. Sheridan, Danielle (29 September 2020). "Britain's trade relationship with China 'under threat' after MPs' Uighur genocide proposal". The Daily Telegraph.
34. "Government should get tough on use of forced labour in Xinjiang - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
35. Sleigh, Sophia (19 January 2021). "Show what British values are about, Tory MP urges before genocide vote". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
36. "Uighurs: China bans UK MPs after abuse sanctions". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
37. "China sanctions: Boris Johnson praises MPs banned by Beijing for 'shining a light on gross human rights violations'". Sky News. 26 March 2021.
38. "'Badge of honour' - China sanctions UK politicians for Xinjiang 'lies'". Reuters. 26 March 2021.
39. "UK MPs declare China is committing genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang". The Guardian. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
40. Malnick, Edward; Stephens, Max (22 January 2022). "Chief Whip denies saying Nusrat Ghani's 'Muslimness' was raised at meeting that led to her sacking" . The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 23 January 2022.
41. "Chief whip comes forward as person behind 'Muslimness' sacking claim". The Observer . 22 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
42. Walker, Peter (23 January 2022). "Nusrat Ghani needs to make formal Islamophobia complaint, says Raab". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 January 2022.
43. Lowe, Tom (21 November 2022). "Fourth construction minister this year appointed". Building. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
44. Gerrard, Neil (22 November 2022). "Nusrat Ghani becomes ninth construction minister in four years". Construction Manager. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
45. "Ministerial Appointments: 26 March 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
46. "Robert Halfon unexpectedly quits as minister in fresh headache for Rishi Sunak". The Independent. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
47. Crabbe, Ellie (5 July 2024). "Sussex Weal General Election result: Conservatives hold seat". The Argus. Brighton. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
48. Scotson, Tom (23 July 2024). "Three Women MPs Elected New Deputy Speakers". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 24 July 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Interview, "Nusrat Ghani: “I was expected to marry young and live in social housing. I never expected to be a Member of Parliament"", PoliticsHome 14 June 2018

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Charles Hendry	Member of Parliament for Wealden 2015–2024	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Sussex Weald 2024–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Dame Eleanor Laing	Chair of Ways and Means 2024-present	Incumbent