Mohammad Saqib Bhatti (born 18 June 1985) is a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Meriden since the 2019 general election. He has been the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Business since September 2022.

Early life and career

Bhatti is of Pakistani ancestry. He is an accountant by profession. In 2018 he became the President of the Greater Birmingham

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, becoming the youngest person and first Muslim to hold the post.

Political career

Bhatti founded the group Muslims for Britain which campaigned for the UK to leave the EU during the Brexit referendum. He argued that EU policy prevented immigration from South Asia and that leaving the EU would make it easier. he was a senior policy adviser with the

Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a conservativ ...

. After

Caroline Spelman Dame Caroline Alice Spelman (' Cormack; born 4 May 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands from 1997 to 2019. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the Sec ...

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 Nicholas James Timothy (born March 1980) is a British political adviser. He served as Joint Downing Street Chief of Staff, alongside Fiona Hill, to Prime Minister Theresa May, until his resignation in the wake of the 2017 general election. ...

in the ballot of party members. Saqib was appointed Private Parliamentary Secretary

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

, the then Secretary of State to the Department for International Trade in 2020. He then moved to the

Department for Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...

where he served as

Private Parliamentary Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon.

Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer f ...

MP, whom he followed in resigning on 5 July 2022 in the aftermath of the

Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct ...

. On 30 September 2022, Bhatti became the Conservative Party's Vice Chair for Business.

Honours

Bhatti was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(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. Bhatti also holds an honorary doctorate from Aston University in Business Administration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatti, Saqib 1985 births Living people UK MPs 2019–present Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British politicians of Pakistani descent English people of Pakistani descent British accountants Alumni of the London School of Economics Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Walsall