South Asian representation in the House of Lords has evolved slowly but significantly, mirroring broader shifts in British society while still falling short of truly reflecting the country’s diversity.
For much of its history, the upper chamber remained overwhelmingly white, with voices from minority ethnic communities largely absent until the closing decades of the 20th century.
Change began to take root with reforms such as the House of Lords Act 1999. By removing most hereditary peers and expanding life peerages, the legislation opened the doors to individuals appointed for professional excellence, public service and community leadership rather than lineage alone. From the early 2000s, this shift led to a gradual rise in ethnic minority representation. In 2001, just over 2 per cent of peers came from minority backgrounds; by the late 2010s, that figure had climbed to around 6 per cent, progress, but still well below the share of ethnic minorities in the UK population.
Now, a fresh chapter is unfolding. Downing Street has published a new list of political peerages, including 25 Labour appointments, five Liberal Democrats and three Conservatives. Notably, five of the new Labour peers are from the British Asian community: four of Indian origin and one of Pakistani heritage, marking another step towards a more representative House, even as the journey towards true balance continues.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new peers.
Professor Geeta Nargund - Founder and former Medical Director of Create Fertility. Founder and Trustee of Health Equality Foundation
Professor Geeta Nargund is a women's health expert, academic, founder, diversity champion and a campaigner for gender equality. She has held senior leadership positions across public, private and voluntary sectors. She has served as a Senior Consultant Gynaecologist and Lead Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at St George’s Hospital NHS Trust since 1996.
Nargund studied medicine at Karnatak Medical College (now the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences) in Hubli, India, before completing her postgraduate training with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London.
She is Pro-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Vice Chair of British Red Cross and Authority Member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Chair of The Pipeline, a gender parity consultancy and sits on the International Advisory Board of The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health.
She is the Founder of Create Fertility and served as its Medical Director until July 2025. She is the Founder and Trustee of Health Equality Foundation (formerly known as Create Health Foundation). She has dedicated her career to tackling wider health inequalities and improving access to reproductive choices and care globally.
Neena Gill CBE – Former Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands
Neena Gill CBE is a senior British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2009 and again from 2014 until 2020. Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, she moved to the UK with her family at the age of ten.
Gill’s first job was in a library at 16, and she went on to study social studies at Liverpool John Moores University, graduating in 1979 and serving as vice president of the students’ union. She later gained a professional postgraduate qualification from the Chartered Institute of Housing and completed the senior executive programme at London Business School.
Her career began in housing and local government, becoming a housing officer at Ealing Council before, aged just 29, being appointed chief executive of ASRA Group. This made her the first woman, first non-white and youngest chief executive of a UK housing association. She later led Newlon Housing Group.
Elected in 1999 as the first female Asian MEP, Gill went on to hold senior roles in the European Parliament, including leading delegations for relations with India and South Asia. Her public service has been recognised with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.
Cllr Shama Tatler - Brent Councillor and Vice-Chair of the London Labour Regional Executive, Patron of the Labour Housing Group and Head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association
Councillor Shama Tatler is a prominent British Labour politician with a strong track record in local government, regional party leadership and national politics. First elected to Brent Council in 2014, she serves the residents of Kingsbury ward and has been a notable voice for community development and inclusive growth in north-west London.
Tatler’s early career was in education, she worked as a secondary school history and humanities teacher before entering politics. Her dedication to public service soon saw her rise within the Labour Party and local government. In 2016 she was appointed to the Brent Council Cabinet, where she took on responsibility for Regeneration, Planning and Growth, leading major projects.
Beyond her council duties, Tatler has played a significant role within the Labour Party’s regional structures. She serves as Vice-Chair of the London Labour Regional Executive and is a patron of the Labour Housing Group, helping to shape policy on housing and local government across the capital. She also worked as Head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association (LGA), supporting councillors and councils nationwide.
Shama Tatler, daughter of Shilesh Kantilal Shah and Kalavanti Shilesh Shah, is a single mother and deeply involved in community engagement.
Uday Nagaraju - Technology Consultant, Politician and Founder of AI Policy Labs
Uday Nagaraju is a technology consultant, politician, Labour adviser, and AI policy advocate with a deep commitment to harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the public good. He was Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for North Bedfordshire and has served pro bono as an adviser within the Party’s External Relations team.
Born in Hyderabad, India, He earned a Bachelor's degree in Computer Technology before moving to the UK in early 2000s, where he completed an MSc in Computer Science at Oxford Brookes University and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Development, Technology and Innovation Policy at UCL.
Public service has been a constant thread throughout his career, whether advancing sustainable development, strengthening UK-India relations, engaging with communities, or ensuring the quality of technology systems. In an era where AI and emerging technologies are transforming the world at pace, Uday founded and lead AI Policy Labs, a startup think tank at the intersection of technology, governance, and public policy. He has also delivered guest lectures at UCL and spoken/written on AI and Technology Policy.
He led the Mahatma Gandhi Future Leaders Programme - a mentorship initiative nurturing political leadership among British Indians in the Labour Party. The programme has successfully supported candidates into parliamentary, mayoral, and councillor roles.
About being granted peerage, he said, “It is an honour to serve in the UK Parliament. I hope to bring my wide-ranging experience – from grassroots activism to global policy, from business and charities to international organisations - into the House of Lords to help build a fairer, more inclusive society.”
Farmida Bi CBE - Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Vice-Chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee
Farmida Bi’s career is marked by quiet authority, resilience and a succession of landmark achievements. A leading corporate solicitor, she has established a formidable reputation at the highest levels of the legal profession, becoming the UK’s first woman to chair a major law firm and one of the most influential Muslim figures in Britain.
Born in Pakistan on 2 September 1967, Bi moved to the UK at the age of six. By her teens she had resolved to pursue law as both a vocation and a platform for wider impact. That determination led her to Downing College, University of Cambridge, where she studied law and graduated in 1989 with a Master of Laws.
She trained and qualified as a solicitor at Clifford Chance in 1992, before building an internationally focused career. Bi went on to work at JPMorgan and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, later qualifying as a New York attorney in 1999. In 2002, she became a partner at Denton Wilde Sapte, spending six years there before joining Norton Rose Fulbright.
In 2018, Bi was appointed Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the first woman to hold such a role at a major UK firm. She later served as Global Chair in 2022. Alongside her professional achievements, Bi has remained committed to public life, founding Progressive British Muslims in the immediate aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings.
