Natasha Asghar was born and raised in Newport Gwent, she has stood for five elections and the Welsh Parliament elections in 2021 was her sixth. On 8th May Natasha was declared the Conservatives Regional Member for the Welsh Parliament of Southeast Wales.
She attended Rougemont School in Newport and went to the University of London to study for a BA in Politics and social policy. This was followed by a Masters in Contemporary British Politics and Media.
After completion of her MA, Natasha became a Banker in London and has worked in an array of financial, retail, and political institutions, including the House of Commons, European Parliament, and the Welsh Parliament in a variety of positions.
After a few years she decided to pursue a career in media and has presented her own successful Radio show, she has written for magazines and had released two books.
In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, extreme sports and spending time with her friends and family.
Q1 Which place or city or country do you feel most at home?
Newport is the place I feel most at home. It is the place my parents chose to make their home, the city where I was born, brought up and educated.
Q2 What are your proudest achievements?
Before this month, my proudest achievement was making a career for myself in the broadcast media, which is a notoriously difficult sector to get into, but this has been surpassed by being elected to the Welsh Parliament, especially as the first woman of colour to do so.
Q3 What inspires you?
I am inspired every day by people who give up their time to volunteer to work for charities and other organisations to help the desperate, lonely, and needy in their communities, often for little or no reward except the knowledge they have done well.
Q4 What has been the biggest obstacle in our career?
Like many people of colour, I have experienced racism and prejudice in my professional and political career which is an obstacle I have overcome with the support of my family and friends.
Q5 Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
Undoubtedly this has to be my father, Mohammad Asghar, who sadly passed away last year. My father was also involved in politics, and I learnt so much from him about serving everyone in the community irrespective of their race, gender, colour, or creed. He was my inspiration.
Q6 What is the best aspect of your current role?
Being able to make a difference. People out there just want to get on with their lives but often find there are hindered by not being able to access the support they need or by bureaucracy and delay in decision making. It’s great when I can help.
Q7 And the worst?
Coming up against bureaucracy and officialdom which often just needs to make a decision or stop obstructing people getting on with their lives.
Q8 What are your long-term goals?
I want to set an example and encourage more women of colour to get involved in politics at all levels. I want to see a stronger Welsh Conservative Party at local and national level to return a Welsh.
Conservative Government and make it the natural party of government.
Q9 If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
I believe in the importance of education. I would like to see schools putting greater emphasis on standards of conduct and behaviour, teaching self-respect and the need to respect others. Politeness and good manners have declined I believe resulting in intolerance, racism, and anti-social behaviour.
Q10 If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
Casanova (Only joking !!)
I would choose Steven Hawking, I was sad that I wasn’t able to meet him during his life, but it would be nice to learn more about theoretical cosmology. Somehow, I doubt the conversation would ever end as I have heard some of his lectures and found his theories fascinating.
