British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has elected world’s first openly gay Muslim MP as part of his government.
Imran Ahmad-Khan helped push Westminster to become the gayest parliament in the world after being elected as MP for Wakefield in Yorkshire. Khan’s election marks the first time that the constituency has voted for a Conservative politician since 1931, by 3,358 votes, and he is also among 24 Tories (British
version of traditionalism and conservatism) who identify as LGBT, the most out of any British party.
According to The Times, Khan has worked for the United Nations as a special assistant in Somalia, as well as for the M&C Saatchi advertising agency, and has strongly campaigned for Brexit.
Khan also belongs to the community of Ahmadiyya Muslims, a messianic movement originating in the Punjab, making him the first Ahmadi to be elected to British parliament too.
“I think [the people of Wakefield] are tired of politicians telling them what to think,” said Khan after his election.
“There are a lot of daughters, husbands, wives, children of coal miners that were very, very annoyed that they had been told by Islington Remainers and others… they were told when they didn’t agree with those people, that they were either uneducated, stupid, racist or wrong, and there was a massive
rejection of this”.
Khan hopes his party will would “reorient itself” to become a party that provides first-class health and education services, denying that his party, the Conservatives have been responsible for cutting these services.
When corrected on this, he replied, “Well actually it doesn’t [happen to be true].
“In Wakefield, the people here are canny enough and they don’t need people talking down to them from Islington or elsewhere”.
Among 650 MPs, the UK now has 8% of LGBTQ+ members as MPs, which is a record for the UK.
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