Proud new member, Bangladeshi descent, Rushanara Ali, won the East London constituency of Bethnal Green & Bow
Yasmin Qureshi, a 47-year-old barrister, held on to a Labour seat of Bolton, polling 18,782 votes against her Conservative rival's tally of 15,827. She was contes- ting in place of Dr Brian Iddon, who has retired from politics.
The House of Commons, the mother of modern parliaments, for the first time got a Gujarati woman — Priti Patel (Conservative) — as a member on Friday.
Labour candidate Valerie Vaz — sister of Indian—origin Labour MP Keith Vaz — was
elected from Walsall South. Mr. Vaz himself retained his seat in Leicester East
though his vote share got reduced by five per cent from the last elections.
It is the first time a brother—sister duo is being elected to the House of Commons.
Helen Grant is the first black woman to represent the Conservatives at Westminster
On one level the result is a historic victory for the ethnic diversity of British politics. The number of minority MPs has nearly doubled, from 14 to 27, exceeding expectations and is Westminster's greatest ever real and percentage increase.
Asian woman MPs create history in UK poll
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Prasun Sonwalkar
London, May 7 (PTI) A new record has been set with the election of several woman candidates with origins in the Indian sub-continent, including the first Muslim woman MP Shabana Mahmood, who won on a Labour ticket.
Among the woman winners were Indian-origin Priti Patel (Conservative) and Valerie Vaz (Labour). The latter's brother, Keith Vaz, was once again elected from the Leicester East constituency.
Results indicate that the number of MPs from ethnic minority background will break the previous record of 15 in the 2005 election.
Besides Shabana Mahmood who won from Birmingham Ladywood, Yasmin Qureshi, Labour candidate from Bolton South East, also won with majorities of more than 8,000.
Rushanara Ali (Labour) romped home victorious from the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency with a majority of over 11,000 votes.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/643730_Asian-woman-MPs-create-history-in-UK-poll
UK Election results: Number of minority ethnic MPs almost doubles