Sandip K. Verma, Baroness Verma (born 30 June 1959) known until 1977 as Sandip K. Rana, is a

British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. Currently, the British Indian population exceeds 2 million people in the UK, making them the single largest Ethnic groups in the United Kingdo ...

politician in the United Kingdom. An appointed member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, she is Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Overseas, a role who chairs the

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

's national committee. Verma was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, from 2015 to 2016.

Life

Born in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

in the Indian Punjab, as a child Verma migrated with her parents to England, arriving in 1960. In 1977, aged seventeen, she married Ashok Verma. They have two children. She is the grand-daughter of the Indian freedom fighter Ujagar Singh, who was a former leader of the Indian Workers' Association and the India League. She made her living in their high fashion business before she invested in supplying residential care. This was enabled by the Conservative party's policy of privatisation and the main customer was Leicester Council. Verma was an unsuccessful

Conservative 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 civiliza ...

parliamentary candidate in Kingston upon Hull East at the

2001 United Kingdom general election The 2001 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 7 June 2001, four years after the previous election on 1 May 1997, to elect 659 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party led by Prime Minister Tony Blair was r ...

, finishing third, and in

Wolverhampton South West Wolverhampton South West was a borough constituency, constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was based in the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands (county), W ...

in the general election of 2005, coming second to the Labour incumbent, Rob Marris. On 2 June 2006, she was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

, taking the title Baroness Verma, ''of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in the County of Leicestershire''. The same year, she was appointed as a Patron of the Tory Reform Group. Until the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following the May 2010 general election, Verma was an Opposition

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and Conservative Spokesperson in the House of Lords on Education and Skills and for Health. In 2010 she became a Government Whip and Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, International Development, and Equalities and Women's Issues. She was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...

from 2012 to 2015, and then for International Development from May 2015 to July 2016. When the new Theresa May ministry was formed in July 2016, following the resignation of

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, Verma was not included in it. Verma was adopted as the Conservative candidate for the position of directly elected

Mayor of Leicester The Mayor of Leicester, styled ''City Mayor'' to distinguish from the Lord Mayor of Leicester, is the directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function of Leicester City Council in England. The incumbent is Peter Soulsby of the ...

in 2019. She lost to Labour's

Peter Soulsby Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby (born 27 December 1948) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of Leicester since 2011. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned his seat in April 2011, in ...

, coming second with 14,519 votes compared to Sir Peter's 51,444 votes. Later that year she as Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Overseas, was chosen to chair the

's national committee for three years. In September 2020 Verma apologised for not consulting the

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments Advisory may refer to: * Advisory board, a body that provides advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation * Boil-water advisory, a public health directive given by government to consumers when a community's drinking wate ...

before taking a directorship in a family firm which made

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contracts with the controversial

Government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...

led by General

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

. However, she denied any wrongdoing and stated “I am truly sorry for my misunderstanding of the rules which I accept is my failing and sincerely hope that the committee will accept my deepest regret at this failure. I would not deliberately disrespect the rules and sincerely apologise to the committee”.

University of Roehampton

In April 2022, Baroness Verma was appointed Chancellor of the University of Roehampton. She was formally invested as Chancellor in a ceremony on 18 May 2023.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Sandip 1959 births Living people English Hindus Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Conservative Party (UK) life peers Politicians from Amritsar Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman British people of Indian descent British people of Punjabi descent