Preet Gill has become the first female Sikh MP to be elected to the UK’s Houses of Parliament. Gill se- cured 24,124 votes to hold the seat in Birmingham Edgbaston for the Labour Party with a ma- jority of 6,917, reports the BBC. The seat was previously held by Gisela Stuart who stepped down when the election was called late April. Gill, who said the education cuts issue was one of her top pri- orities, said: “It’s a real honour to be representing the peo- ple and the place where I was born and raised.”
“We’ve had a really strong campaign, a really good team of people here in Edgbaston and it’s just been phenomenal.” “I’m really excited to learn more and really connect with communities,” the BBC quoted Gill as saying. Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the Sikh Federation, said: “We are delighted to have the first Sikh woman MP in Birming- ham, Edgbaston.” “She will be a fantastic MP, a credit to the Sikh community and an excellent role model.” Gill was followed by Con- servative Caroline Squire with 17,207 votes. Liberal Democrat Colin Green received 1,564 votes, Green Party candidate Alice Kiff received 562 and Com- mon Good candidate Dick Rodgers secured 155 votes.
Source : Punjab Advance