Gagan Mohindra (born 7 April 1978)[1] is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Hertfordshire since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Opposition Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons since November 2024, serving alongside Joy Morrissey.[2]
Gagan Mohindra | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Opposition Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons | |
| Assumed office 6 November 2024 Serving with Joy Morrissey | |
| Leader | Kemi Badenoch |
| Preceded by | Mark Tami |
| Shadow Minister for Education | |
| In office 19 July 2024 – 4 November 2024 | |
| Leader | Rishi Sunak |
| Succeeded by | Neil O'Brien |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| In office 18 September 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Jacob Young |
| Essex County Councillor for Chigwell and Loughton Broadway | |
| In office 4 May 2017 – 13 April 2021 | |
| Preceded by | John Knapman |
| Succeeded by | Lee Scott |
| Member of Parliament for South West Hertfordshire | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | David Gauke |
| Majority | 4,456 (9.23%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gagan Mohindra 7 April 1978 |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | King's College London |
| Website | gaganmohindra |
Early life and career
editGagan Mohindra was born on 7 April 1978 into a Punjabi Hindu family.[3] His parents were both from Punjab, and immigrated to the United Kingdom before Mohindra was born. His paternal grandfather served in the British Indian Army.[4] Mohindra was raised as a Hindu.[3]
Mohindra read Mathematics at King's College London and worked in financial services, before founding the Chromex Group four years after graduating, where he worked until 2015. The last filed accounts of the company show liabilities of £1.4 million.[5]
Political career
editMohindra was elected as a Conservative Party councillor for the Grange Hill Ward of Epping Forest District Council in May 2006, and served as a councillor for the Chigwell and Loughton Broadway division on Essex County Council till 2021.[6] He continued in these roles, unpaid, after being elected to Parliament until 2021.[7] Mohindra was also previously Chairman of Essex Conservatives.
At the 2010 general election, Mohindra stood in North Tyneside, coming third with 18.3% of the vote behind the Labour candidate Mary Glindon and the Liberal Democrat candidate.[8][9]
He was also shortlisted to become MP for Brentwood and Ongar in 2017, but lost the nomination to Alex Burghart.[7]
Parliamentary career
editAt the 2019 general election, Mohindra was elected to Parliament as MP for South West Hertfordshire with 49.6% of the vote and a majority of 14,408.[10] He was one of 15 MPs of Indian origin elected at the 2019 general election.[3]
He is a member of the Conservative Friends of India, a group within the Conservative Party.[11]
In 2020, Mohindra was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee.[12]
In October 2020, Mohindra voted against the opposition motion to provide free school meals to children during school holidays.[13]
On 13 June 2022, Mohindra was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Priti Patel, the home secretary,[14] and was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip on 18 September 2023.[15]
At the 2024 general election, Mohindra was re-elected as MP for South West Hertfordshire with a decreased vote share of 34.1% and a decreased majority of 4,456.[16] He became Shadow Minister for Education in July 2024.[17]
References
edit- ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
- ^ "Kemi Badenoch appoints Shadow Ministerial Team". policymogul.com. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "15 Indian-origin MPs in new UK Parliament". The Times of India. 14 December 2019.
- ^ "About Gagan Mohindra". Gagan Mohindra.
- ^ "Gagan Mohindra MP (Conservative)". obv.org.uk.
- ^ "Councillor Gagan Mohindra". Your council. Epping Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ a b Meyler, Piers (6 January 2020). "New MP will keep Essex council seat - and monthly allowance". essexlive.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/pls/portal/NTC_PSCM.PSCM_Web.download?p_ID=514458 [dead link]
- ^ "Hertfordshire South West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "UK polls: 5 Punjab-origin MPs make it to House of Commons". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "New appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs". Politics Home. 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Free School Meals During School Holidays, in line with the Conservative Party's stance that meals outside of term time were the responsibility of parents and not schools". They Work For You. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Heale, James [@JAHeale] (13 June 2022). "Some PPS changes for rising Tory stars: -Rob Butler to Liz Truss -Selaine Saxby to Simon Clarke -James Sunderland to George Eustice -Gagan Mohindra to Priti Patel" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 June 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Promotions for @JacobYoungMP to replace @DehennaDavison and @gaganmohindra to the whips office". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "General Election results July 2024". www.threerivers.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Conservative Party announces interim Opposition Front Bench". policymogul.com. Retrieved 25 July 2024.