Dr Jeevun Gurpreet Singh Sandher (born September 1990) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the member of parliament for

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, gaining the seat from Jane Hunt.

Early life

Sandher was born in

Luton, Bedfordshire Luton () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to ...

into a British Punjabi

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

family with origins from

Jalandhar, Punjab Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

Career

Sandher graduated with a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Political Economy from

King’s College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 2022. Prior to that he was awarded an MSc in Economic Development and Policy Analysis and a BA in Economics and Philosophy from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. He now leads the economics team at the

New Economics Foundation The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a Great Britain, British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice". NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new m ...

. Before undertaking his doctorate, Sandher worked in

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

as an economist in the Ministry of Finance. He has also had roles in

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

, and the

Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...

, where he advised on budgeting,

macroeconomic Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output/ GDP ...

policy, inequality, poverty and social security. While studying for his PhD, he co-hosted the Politics JaM podcast. He was also an active member of the

Young Fabians The Young Fabians is the under age 31 section of the Fabian Society, a socialist society (Labour Party), socialist society in the United Kingdom that is affiliated with the Labour Party (UK). The Young Fabians operate as a membership-driven thin ...

Political career

Sandher was selected as the

prospective parliamentary candidate In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of ...

for Loughborough in December 2022. He won the seat at the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

with an 11.8% swing from the

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

. His majority of 4,960 votes represented an 11.7% margin of victory and a 2.1% increase in vote share for Labour. Upon entering

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Sandher made his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 4 September 2024. Sandher was approved as a member of the

Treasury Select Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the ...

in a Commons motion on 21 October 2024. Prior to this, he was appointed

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the All-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) concerning India and Hydrogen. Politically, Sandher has been described as sitting on the

soft left The soft left, also known as the open left, inside left and historically as the Tribunite left, is a faction within the British Labour Party. The term "soft left" was coined to distinguish the mainstream left, represented by former leader Michae ...

of the Labour Party. Sandher is a co-sponsor of

Kim Leadbeater Kim Michele Leadbeater (; born 1 May 1976) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Spen Valley, formerly Batley and Spen, since 2021. Early life and career Kim Leadbeater was born on 1 May 1976 in ...

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a private members' bill (PMB) which proposes to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. The bill was introduced by Labour backbench MP Kim Leadbeater in October 20 ...

which proposes to legalise

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

Personal life

Sandher and fellow newly elected Labour MP Louise Jones announced their engagement, shortly after his proposal on 1 December 2024. He met the new

North East Derbyshire North East Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The council is based in the large village of Wingerworth. The district also includes the towns of Dronfield and Clay Cross as well as numerou ...

MP in Loughborough in January 2023 when they were both still on the campaign trail.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandher, Jeevun Date of birth missing (living people) Living people UK MPs 2024–present Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Sikhs English people of Punjabi descent 21st-century British economists Political economists Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Nottingham Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Loughborough Politicians from Luton English people of Indian descent