Victor EzejaFour British-Nigerians were among candidates that won parliamentary seats in the United Kingdom general elections for the House of Commons held on Thursday, 4th July 2024.
The Labour Party recorded a landslide victory with 412 Seats ending a 14-year rule of the Conservatives.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelA 62-year-old lawyer and the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has been officially appointed as the British Prime Minister, after Rishi Sunak conceded defeat and resigned as leader of the Conservatives.
READ ALSO: UK Election: Nigeria Should Learn Lessons To Reform Electoral System – HURIWA
As Labour takes over in the UK parliament, here are four Nigerians that were elected to represent their constituencies as Members of Parliament (MP).
Kemi Badenoch
Despite the Labour Party’s landslide in the Parliamentary election, Kemi Badenoch was successfully re-elected under the Conservative Party.
Ms Badenoch scored 19,360 votes to defeat her main rival, Labour’s Issy Waiter, who polled 16,750 votes for North West Essex.
She has served as Member of Parliament, representing Saffron Walden in Essex since 2017.
She had also served as Secretary of State for Business and Trade from 2023 to 2024 and President of the Board of Trade and as Minister for Women and Equalities from 2022 to 2024.
Born on January 2, 1980, Badenoch studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex and got a Master’s degree in 2003. She also studied Law at Birkbeck University of London.
The 44-year-old British politician was seen as a frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak given her disposition towards the position after Liz Truss resigned in October 2022.
Speaking after her re-election, Badenoch noted that the outcome of the polls show that the Conservatives have lost the trust of the people.
She said: “Many of my friends and colleagues have lost their seats. They have served their country with distinction. Their service will never be in vain. But the public have spoken and they have said loud and clear that the Conservatives have lost their trust.”
Taiwo Owatemi
Another British-Nigerian politician who was reelected as MP was Taiwo Owatemi.
Born 22 July 1992, Owatemi has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the people of Coventry North West since 2019 under Labour Party. Then, she narrowly won the seat for Labour with a majority of 208 votes after incumbent Labour MP, Geoffrey Robinson, announced his intention to stand down.
In the 4 July 2024 election, Owatemi scored 19,696 votes to defeat her main challenger, Tom Mercer from the Tories, who polled 8,522 votes.
In a post on her X handle after the election, Owatemi thanked the people Coventry North West for putting their trust in her by reelecting her to represent them. She pledged to work tirelessly in ensuring that their voices are heard.
“Words cannot express my gratitude to the people of Coventry North West. Your trust in me, in our shared vision, for a brighter future, is truly humbling,” Owatemi said.
“It is the honour of my life to represent you and I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure your voices are represented.”
She had served as the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities from September 2021 to September 2022.
The 31-year-old British politician is a qualified pharmacist. She obtained a Master’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Kent. She worked at a cancer unit in Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust before going into politics.
Owatemi is a member of Labour Friends of Israel and was part of a delegation to the country in February 2023.
Chi Onwurah
Chi Onwurah was re-elected to the UK House of Commons under the Labour Party to represent Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West.
With 18,875 votes, Onwurah emerged as the winner on the 4 July that saw the Labour Party sweepingly defeat the Conservatives. She defeated her closest opponent, Ashton Muncaster, of the Reform Party who got 7,815 votes.
Prior to the election, Onwurah, who was born on 12 April 1965, served as Shadow Minister for the Industrial Strategy and Innovation from 2016 to 2020. She was also appointed shadow minister for Science, Research and Digital in 2020.
The British politician was first elected into the UK Parliament in 2010.
Born in Wallsend, the 59-year-old went to Kenton School, Newcastle and got a degree in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London in 1987. She worked on in hardware and software development, product management, market development and strategy for different private companies in different countries including the UK, France, the United States, Nigeria and Denmark.
Before joining politics, Onwurah was Head of Telecoms Technology at Ofcom, with a focus on broadband provision.
In a post on her X handle, Onwurah thanked the people of Newcastle Central West for electing her to be their representative in the British Parliament. “It is the honour of my life to represent our wonderful city and I will not let you down,” she wrote.
Bayo Alaba
Bayo Alaba, a British politician of Nigerian descent, got reelected into the House of Commons to represent the Southend East and Rochford under Labour Party.
Alaba polled 15,395 votes defeating the Conservative Party’s candidate, Gavin Haran, who secured 11,368 votes.
Alaba, who was born and raised in Forest Gate, east London, graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing and Business from Coventry University in 1995. He later studied Social Politics at the London School of Economics in 2011.
Alaba, a former paratrooper, is currently serving as the first black councillor for the London Borough of Redbridge.
Commenting on his victory at the polls, Alaba in a post on his X handle thanked all the Labour Party members who mobilised support for him and all people who voted for him.
He added that “Over the next few weeks there will be a lot to be done, getting set up to serve you in Parliament and in the constituency.
“Southend East & Rochford voted for change on Thursday. On Friday we started the work of delivering it.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
