Kanishka Narayan | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety | |
| Assumed office 7 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Feryal Clark |
| Member of Parliament forVale of Glamorgan | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Alun Cairns |
| Majority | 4,216 (9.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bihar, India |
| Party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Eton College University of Oxford (BA) Stanford University (MBA)[1] |
Kanishka Narayan (born November 1989)[2] is a British politician who has beenMember of Parliament (MP) for theVale of Glamorgan since 2024.[3] A member of theLabour Party, he gained the seat fromConservativeAlun Cairns. He has served as aParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety since 2025.[4]
Narayan was born inBihar, India. His family moved toCardiff when he was 12 years old[1] and he grew up in the city[5] sleeping on the floor of his one-bedroom home offCity Road.[6] He spent one year at Cathays High School, but then went toEton College inBerkshire with the help of a scholarship.[7] He studiedPPE atBalliol College,Oxford alongsideYuan Yang[8] before gaining anMBA fromStanford University in the USA.[1]
Narayan says he joined the Labour Party when he was 18.[5]
Narayan was a civil servant in theCabinet Office underDavid Cameron and also at the Environment Department underLiz Truss.[1] He has also worked in the private sector giving financial advice to businesses.[9]
Narayan has also volunteered withCitizens Advice andThe Trussell Trust.[9]
In 2023 Narayan moved from Cardiff to live on the Waterfront inBarry, in theVale of Glamorgan, a couple of weeks after being selected as the Labour candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan constituency.[1]
Narayan gained the Vale of Glamorgan seat in theJuly 2024 general election, becoming Wales' first ethnic minority MP. The BBC described it as "one of the most significant developments since LadyMegan Lloyd George became the first woman MP from Wales, back in 1929".[10][11]
After the election he was appointed as parliamentary private secretary toSteve Reed, theSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[6] On 7 September 2025 he was appointed asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety a junior ministerial role in theDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology.[12]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forVale of Glamorgan 2024–present | Incumbent |
