UK’s first woman Sikh MP elected to key Parliament panel

London, July 18 : Britain’s first woman Sikh MP has been elected to an influential cross-party panel in the UK Parliament that examines the workings of the Home Office. Preet Kaur Gill, who won the Edgbaston seat for the Labour party in the June 8 snap general election, was elected to the Home Affairs Select Committee in the UK Parliament. “We had no Sikh MPs prior to this election. So, Sikhs had no representation, and we had no female Sikh representation.
Parliament must reflect the people it serves,” said the 44- year-old, who will join 10 other British MPs on the committee. The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee was chaired by Keith Vaz, Britain’s longest-serving Indian-origin MP, until he stepped down from the post last year.
Its newly-elected chair is Labour party MP Yvette Cooper, elected unopposed to the post last week.
The Committee chooses its own subjects of inquiry and seeks written and oral evidence from a wide range of relevant groups and individuals. At the end of an inquiry, the committee often produces a report setting out its findings and making recommendations to the UK government.