Onkar Sahota is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

who has been the

member of the London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

for Ealing and Hillingdon since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, when he became the first Labour candidate to be elected in Ealing and Hillingdon. He was re-elected in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

with an increased majority.

Early life

Onkar Sahota grew up in

Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

during the 1960s as one of five children, having three sisters and a brother. His parents had moved to the UK from India. His father originally worked for

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

before opening his own

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the Uni ...

y. Since childhood, Sahota had always wanted to be a doctor. He studied medicine at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, graduating in 1983, and is now a general practitioner at a surgery in

Political career

In 2012, Sahota was elected the new member for Ealing & Hillingdon on a 9.2% swing, defeating incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

member and

Deputy Mayor of London A Deputy Mayor is a member of the London Mayoral cabinet, in the executive arm of the Greater London Authority. They serve as political advisors with responsibilities and powers corresponding to portfolios delegated by the Mayor. One of them mu ...

Richard Barnes. Sahota was re-elected in 2016 with an increased majority. He currently serves as the London Assembly Labour Group's lead spokesperson on health and is Chair of the Assembly's Health Committee.

Policy

Sahota opposes the planned closure of the

accident and emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

(A&E) ward at

Ealing Hospital Ealing Hospital is a district general NHS hospital, part of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, located in the Southall district of the London Borough of Ealing, West London, England. It lies on the south side of the Uxbridge ...

, and launched a petition to keep the facility open. The campaign was ultimately successful and the closure plans were scrapped. Sahota has also campaigned on issues including the Southall Waterside development and the impact of budgetary pressures on London's accident and emergency departments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahota, Onkar Living people 20th-century British medical doctors Labour Members of the London Assembly British politicians of Indian descent Alumni of the University of Sheffield Year of birth missing (living people)