Wajid Iltaf Khan, Baron Khan of Burnley (born 15 October 1979), is a British Labour Party politician who served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

from 2017 to 2019 and as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

from 2020 to 2021. He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement since July 2024. He sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee and

Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per ye ...

, as well as the Arab Peninsula and South Asia delegations. His main policy interests include workers’ rights, youth empowerment and human rights. In December 2020, it was announced he would be conferred 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 ...

age after a

nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In ...

by Labour Party Leader

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

Early life

The son of a taxi driver and a house-wife, Wajid was born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, where he continues to live with his wife and two children. He read for a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Master of Laws (European Law) degree at the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

, working as a taxi driver to fund his studies.

Career

Before becoming an MEP, Wajid was a senior lecturer at the

for 12 years, and a course leader in community leadership for 11 years. Prior to this, Wajid worked in the voluntary sector with young offenders, as well as teaching education programmes for homeless young people. The Burnley race riots in 2001 inspired Wajid to develop a number of community cohesion projects, which gained him the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) Volunteering Award for social and community cohesion in 2004. Wajid's work in community development has seen him address the Civil G8 on inclusive education in Moscow, and advised the Russian Ministry of Education and Science on developing youth strategies. He has contributed to European-wide ‘Volunteurope’ conferences in Germany, France, Poland, Bosnia and Italy. Within the UK, Wajid has developed higher education programmes to increase academic participation amongst women in the south Asian community. Wajid has directed international leadership conferences in Oman, Turkey, Pakistan and the US, and has represented the University of Central Lancashire in collaborative projects with Russian NGOs. Wajid is an alumnus of both of HRH Prince Charles' leadership initiatives: the Mosaic international Leadership Programme, as well as the Oxford Young Muslim Leadership Programme. He also serves on the Labour Party National Policy Forum and International Policy Commission, in addition to serving on the North West regional board.

Member of the European Parliament

Khan was included in Labour's eight-person shortlist for the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...

. He took over the

seat in July 2017, replacing Afzal Khan who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the general election. As an MEP he was the Labour Spokesperson for Human Rights, and sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Human Rights Committee. He lost his seat in the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

House of Lords

Lord Khan joined the House of Lords in February 2021 and has held several Opposition Posts. Since May 2021 he has been an Opposition Whip in the House of Lords, and in December 2021 he was appointed Shadow Spokesperson for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government.UK Parliament. Lord Khan of Burnley
Retrieved 11 October 2024 Following the formation of the Starmer Government in July 2024 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan of Burnley, Wajid Khan, Baron 1979 births Living people Academics of the University of Central Lancashire Alumni of the University of Central Lancashire English people of Pakistani descent Labour Party (UK) life peers Labour Party (UK) MEPs Life peers created by Elizabeth II MEPs for England 2014–2019 Mayors of places in Lancashire People from Burnley