In 2014,Vara was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India,Pranab Mukherjee. It is the highest award for Indian origin persons living abroad. Vara received the award for promoting ties between the UK and India,and for being the first Indian origin minister for the Conservative party. [5]
He worked in the City of London and West End of London,as well as in Hong Kong from 1989-1990.[8] Vara has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First,and is a former vice-president of the Small Business Bureau.[9]
Political career
Vara has been involved with the Conservative Party since the late 1980s and has held various posts at local,regional and national levels. He served as a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2005.[10] In this position,he had a broad range of responsibilities,including advising Michael Howard,deputising for the Party chairman,party spokesman with the media and looking after Conservative Future (which comprises the 10,000 or so people in the party under 30).
Since the 1990s Vara spoke frequently at Party Conferences including opening key debates on the economy and law and order.
At the Conservative Party Conference in 2000,he was awarded the accolade of official "rising star" of the Party,with Lord Alexander of Weedon describing him as a "future Conservative Party leader".[13]
In November 2000,Clarke caused controversy when he said his chances of success against Vara were increased because Vara,as a Ugandan born Hindu,was "unable to rely on the Asian vote" in a town with Muslim communities. Clarke added that "the 20% rural [vote] have shown themselves in the past to be quite racist in their voting." [15]
The Breast Cancer Bill was Vara's chosen issue after he was one of 20 MPs who were selected at random to introduce a private member's bill to the House of Commons in 2006.[17] He has campaigned to broaden the age of routine breast cancer screening for women from 50–70 age group to 45–75 years. The proposal was not supported by the then Labour government,which Vara claimed effectively blocked its progress by talking through to the end of the debate.[18]
At the 2010 general election,Vara was re-elected as MP for North West Cambridgeshire with an increased vote share of 50.5% and an increased majority of 16,677.[20][21] He was again re-elected at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 52.5% and an increased majority of 19,795.[22][23]
At the snap 2017 general election,Vara was again re-elected,with an increased vote share of 58.6% and a decreased majority of 18,008.[25]
Early on 15 November 2018,Vara announced his resignation as a Northern Ireland Minister on Twitter,posting his letter of resignation. His resignation followed the previous day's marathon-length cabinet meeting to discuss the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.[26][27]
In the 2019 Conservative leadership election,he initially backed the ultimately unsuccessful candidacy of Dominic Raab.[28]
At the 2019 general election,Vara was again re-elected,with an increased vote share of 62.5% and an increased majority of 25,983.[29]
In November 2019,Vara stood unsuccessfully for the role of Speaker of the House of Commons. [30]
Following the State Opening of Parliament by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 11th March 2021,Vara had the honour,usually reserved for a senior parliamentarian,to propose the Loyal Address,starting the five day Queen's speech debate at the start of a new Parliamentary session. The speech is normally delivered to a packed House of Commons but uniquely,on this occasion,during the COVID pandemic,Vara spoke of the "dark shadow" of the pandemic as he addressed a much smaller number of MP's,all socially distanced and wearing safety masks [31]
In May 2024,Vara presented a New Bhagavad Gita,one of Hinduism's most sacred texts to the Speaker of the House of Commons,the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP. The Gita was blessed at a temple in Mayapur India,and following the July 2024 general election it has been used by Hindu MPs taking the oath of allegiance to the Crown,before taking their seats in Parliament. [35]
↑ "British Law Minister Shailesh Vara's India visit to carry forward UK-India legal links". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2015. The Minister already has close links to India. A Gujarati speaker, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Indian Government earlier this year. He is also the first person of Gujarati origin to serve as a British Government Minister.
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