Saqib Bhatti
Mohammad Saqib Bhatti[1] MBE (born 18 June 1985)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden and Solihull East, formerly Meriden, since the 2019 general election.[3] Saqib currently serves as Shadow Minister for Education. His previous positions in the Conservative Shadow Government are as Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care and Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport.[4] He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy from 2023 to 2024 and as the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Business from 2022 to 2023.[5]
Prior to serving in parliament, Bhatti founded the pro-Brexit group Muslims for Britain, which advocated for leaving the European Union (EU) in the 2016 referendum.[6][7]
Early life and education
[edit]Bhatti was born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, England in a Pakistani immigrant family from Punjab.[8] His father, Younis Bhatti, is from Gujar Khan, while his mother is from Murree. Younis is UK secretary general of the Al-Shifa Eye Trust, a Pakistan-based eyecare hospital that provides treatment to individuals who cannot afford it.
Bhatti was privately educated at King Edwards VI School in Edgbaston,[9][10] before studying law at the London School of Economics (LSE), from where he graduated with an LLB (Hons) degree.[8] Whilst at university, he served as president of the LSE Pakistan Society.[11]
Early career
[edit]Bhatti is an accountant by profession.[12] In 2018, he became the President of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, becoming the youngest person and first Muslim to hold the post.[13]
Bhatti founded the group Muslims for Britain which campaigned for the UK to leave the EU during the Brexit referendum.[14] He argued that EU policy prevented immigration from South Asia and that leaving the EU would make it easier.[6][7] As of 2018[update] he was a senior policy adviser with the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe.[13]
Member of Parliament
[edit]After Caroline Spelman announced she was standing down as an MP, Bhatti was selected to represent the Conservative seat of Meriden at the 2019 general election, beating the political adviser Nick Timothy in the ballot of party members.[15][16]
Saqib was appointed Private Parliamentary Secretary Liz Truss, the then Secretary of State to the Department for International Trade in 2020.[17] He then moved to the Department for Health and Social Care where he served as Private Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP, whom he followed in resigning on 5 July 2022 in the aftermath of the Chris Pincher scandal.[18][19]
On 30 September 2022, Bhatti became the Conservative Party's Vice Chair for Business.[20] Saqib was then appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy - a position he held until the 2024 general election.[21]
In the 2024 UK general election, Bhatti's constituency of Meriden was renamed to Meriden and Solihull East after the reshaping of constituency boundaries.[22] Saqib won 16,792 votes, seeing him retain his position as the elected Member of Parliament for his constituency.[23]
Following the election, Bhatti was instated as Shadow Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, in addition to Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care.[24]
After the 2024 Conservative Leadership Election, newly elected Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch reshuffled her Shadow Government, resulting in Bhatti's move to Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport.[25] The most recent shadow government reshuffle saw Saqib assume the role of Shadow Minister for Education, which he has held since 23 July 2025.[26]
Leadership election positions
[edit]In the July–September 2022 Conservative leadership election, Bhatti endorsed Liz Truss, stating that Truss "understands that for businesses to thrive, the government needs to get out of the way."[27]
Honours
[edit]Bhatti was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours "for services to diversity and inclusion in the business community", while he was President of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.[28]
Bhatti also holds an honorary doctorate from Aston University in Business Administration.[29]
Electoral history
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Saqib Bhatti | 16,792 | 38.1 | −24.3 | |
| Labour | Sarah Alan | 12,208 | 27.7 | +6.9 | |
| Reform | Malcolm Sedgley | 8,753 | 19.9 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sunny Virk | 3,353 | 7.6 | −6.0 | |
| Green | Shesh Sheshabhatter | 2,929 | 6.7 | +3.5 | |
| Majority | 4,584 | 10.4 | −31.2 | ||
| Turnout | 44,035 | 59.8 | −4.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -15.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Saqib Bhatti | 34,358 | 63.4 | +1.4 | |
| Labour | Teresa Beddis | 11,522 | 21.3 | −5.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Laura McCarthy | 5,614 | 10.4 | +5.5 | |
| Green | Stephen Caudwell | 2,667 | 4.9 | +2.3 | |
| Majority | 22,836 | 42.1 | +7.0 | ||
| Turnout | 54,161 | 64.9 | −2.7 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.5 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ 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. 270. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
- ^ James Rodger (12 December 2019). "Meriden general election results 2019 – Birmingham Live". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Parliamentary career for Saqib Bhatti - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Jake Berry MP Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ a b Pickard, Jim (19 May 2016). "Vote Leave woos British Asians with migration leaflets". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b Parveen, Nazia (1 June 2016). "Why do some ethnic minority voters want to leave the EU?". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "About Saqib Bhatti". 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "About Saqib Bhatti". Saqib Bhatti. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Shah, Murtaza Ali (26 December 2019). "British Pakistani Saqib Bhatti MP rising star of Conservatives". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Ex Downing Street chief rejected as Tory candidate". BBC News. 6 November 2019.
- ^ a b Jones, Tamlyn (27 September 2018). "Chamber installs youngest ever president". BirminghamLive.
- ^ Varley, Ciaran (27 July 2016). "The Muslims who voted for Brexit: what do they think now?". BBC Three. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Carlon, John (5 November 2019). "Former Downing Street chief Nick Timothy beaten by Saqib Bhatti in Tory's Meriden selection". Solihull Observer. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ Carter, Gus (18 December 2019). "Ones to watch: The most promising new MPs of 2019". Spectator. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ "Latest civil service & public affairs moves — October 5". 5 October 2020.
- ^ "Meet the political stars of tomorrow in the Midlands". 23 September 2021.
- ^ "Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resign as Boris Johnson apologises for Chris Pincher 'mistake' – UK politics live". the Guardian. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ @JakeBerry (30 September 2022). "Delighted to welcome 3 new Vice Chairs to my @Conservatives team 👇💼@Bhatti_Saqib – Vice Chair for Business 🤝 @SarBritcliffeMP – Vice Chair for Youth 📚@Alex_Stafford – Vice Chair for Policy All working with me, focused on getting Britain moving" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Saqib Bhatti MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Solihull to get three MP seats according to final map". Solihull Observer. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Meriden and Solihull East - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Saqib appointed as a Shadow Minister in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department of Health and Social Care". Saqib Bhatti. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Saqib appointed Shadow Minister of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport". Saqib Bhatti. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Saqib Bhatti MP appointed Shadow Education Minister". Saqib Bhatti. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ Bhatti, Saqib (16 August 2022). "Liz Truss is bold leader we need to tackle inflation says SAQIB BHATTI". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N16.
- ^ "About Saqib Bhatti". 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Meriden and Solihull Election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Meriden Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
External links
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