Nus Ghani | |
|---|---|
 Official parliamentary portrait | |
| Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Chairman of Ways and Means | |
| Assumed office 23 July 2024 | |
| Speaker | Sir Lindsay Hoyle |
| Preceded by | Dame Eleanor Laing |
| Minister of State for Europe | |
| In office 26 March 2024 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Leo Docherty |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Doughty |
| Minister of State for the Investment Security Unit | |
| In office 7 February 2023 – 26 March 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Alan Mak |
| Minister of State for Industry and Economic Security[a] | |
| In office 27 October 2022 – 26 March 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Jackie Doyle-Price |
| Succeeded by | Alan Mak |
| Minister of State for Science and Investment Security | |
| In office 7 September 2022 – 27 October 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | George Freeman |
| Succeeded by | George Freeman |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 11 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Paul Maynard |
| Succeeded by | Iain Stewart |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation and Maritime | |
| In office 9 January 2018 – 13 February 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Paul Maynard |
| Succeeded by | Kelly Tolhurst |
| Assistant Government Whip | |
| In office 9 January 2018 – 11 July 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Member of Parliament forSussex Weald Wealden (2015–2024) | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Hendry |
| Majority | 6,842 (13.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1972-09-01)1 September 1972 (age 52) Azad Kashmir, Pakistan |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Birmingham City University University of Leeds |
| Website | Official website |
Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani (born 1 September 1972) is a BritishConservative Party politician andMember of Parliament (MP) forSussex Weald since2024, having represented the predecessor constituencyWealden from2015 to 2024.[1] She has served asChairman of Ways and Means, the seniorDeputy Speaker of the House of Commons since 2024.
Ghani served asMinister of State for Europe in 2024.[2] She has previously served asMinister of State for Industry and Economic Security andMinister of State for the Investment Security Unit.[3][4] In January 2018, she became the first femaleMuslim minister to speak from theHouse of Commons despatch box.[5]
From 2018 to 2020, Ghani wasParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation and Maritime and aLord Commissioner of HM Treasury under prime ministersTheresa May andBoris Johnson.[6] After having served as vice-chair of the1922 Committee, she was appointedMinister of State for Science and Investment Security byLiz Truss in September 2022.[7]
Ghani was born inKashmir[8] on 1 September 1972, the daughter of parents fromAzad Kashmir.[9][10] Ghani was educated atBordesley Green Girls' School in Birmingham. She studied atBirmingham City University, graduating with aBA in government and politics, and later gained a master's degree atLeeds University in international relations.[11][12][13][14]
She was employed by the charitiesAge UK andBreakthrough Breast Cancer, and later by theBBC World Service.[15]
Ghani first stood as a parliamentary candidate forBirmingham Ladywood at the2010 general election, finishing third.[15]
Following the announcement of sitting MPCharles Hendry's retirement at the next election, Ghani was selected in December 2013 at anopen primary in which anyone on theelectoral register in Wealden could attend and vote.[16] The primary attracted nearly 400 residents.[17][18][19][20] In the2015 general election Ghani became the first female MP to hold the seat, being elected with a majority of 22,967.[21] In the2017 general election Ghani won 61.2% of the votes, increasing her majority to 23,628.[21]
In July 2015, she was appointed as a member of theHome Affairs Select Committee and served until 2017.[22][11] In 2016, Ghani worked withBarnardo's, the UK's oldest children's charity, to undertake an independent inquiry into harmful child sexual behaviour.[23]
In July 2017, Ghani was promoted toParliamentary Private Secretary at the Home Office.[24] Ghani was involved in producing reports on home affairs, security, hate crime, policing and immigration.[25] That year, she also chaired the Government's Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network.[26]
As a supporter ofBrexit, in December 2017 she described SirJohn Sawers, the ex-MI6 chief, as providing only "gloom and doom" about Brexit.[27][14]
In January 2018, Ghani was appointed an Assistant Whip and a Minister within theDepartment for Transport, including responsibility for shipping. Ghani was the first female Muslim minister to speak from the House of Commons despatch box. During the2020 British cabinet reshuffle, Ghani was dismissed from government and replaced byKelly Tolhurst in theDepartment for Transport. She had earlier been discussed as a contender to oversee theHigh Speed 2 rail line construction.[28] While without ministerial office, the MP acted as paid independent chairperson of thesupervisory board of the Belfast Maritime Consortium, founded byArtemis Technologies, which attracted some criticism.[29][30]
Although she voted forthe second COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Ghani was asteering committee member of the lockdown-scepticCOVID Recovery Group, a group of Conservative MPs who opposed the UK government'sDecember 2020 lockdown.[31]
In September 2020, Ghani "launched an inquiry with theBusiness, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee exploring how it can look at the UKUyghur supply chain."[32] The report outlined a series of recommendations to address the use of Uyghur forced labour in UK business supply chains.[33] Ghani was instrumental in the cross-party campaign for the introduction of the Genocide Amendment to the Trade Bill.[34] On 26 March 2021, as a consequence of Ghani's condemnation of the People's Republic of China's treatment of theUyghurs, it was announced that Ghani was one of five MPs to be sanctioned byChina.[35] The sanctions were condemned by the Prime Minister and led the Foreign Secretary to summon the Chinese ambassador.[36][37] On 22 April 2021, Ghani tabled a Motion before the House of Commons declaring that Parliament recognises that China is perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs. This motion was passed unanimously.[38]
As of January 2022, she was a vice-chair of the1922 Committee.[39]
In January 2022, Ghani said she was dismissed as a transport minister in 2020 because she was a Muslim. She said that a government whip had told her that, in the Downing Street meeting that decided her removal, herMuslimness was raised as an issue.[14] The ConservativeChief whip,Mark Spencer, came forward as the person who spoke to Ghani and said the allegations were untrue.[40] TheJustice Secretary andDeputy Prime MinisterDominic Raab said the allegations were serious and called on Ghani to make a formal complaint in order to allow an investigation to take place.[41]
On 21 November 2022, Ghani became industry minister, the fourth holder of the post in 2022 and the ninth in four years, succeedingJackie Doyle-Price.[42][43] On 26 March 2024, Ghani replacedLeo Docherty asMinister of State for Europe, her previous role being taken byAlan Mak.[44][45]
For the2024 general election on 4 July, the Wealden seat's boundaries were redrawn asSussex Weald, for which Ghani was elected, with a lower majority.[46] On 23 July 2024 Ghani was electedDeputy Speaker in the House of Commons.[47]
Ghani married David Wheeldon in 2002 and has one child.[14][11]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWealden 2015–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forSussex Weald 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of Ways and Means 2024-present | Incumbent |
| Margaret Thatcher | .svg) | |
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| John Major |
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| Tony Blair | ||
| Gordon Brown | ||
| David Cameron |
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| Theresa May |
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| Boris Johnson |
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| Liz Truss |
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| Rishi Sunak | ||
| Keir Starmer |
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