4 Indian-origin members picked
Downing Street called it a “refresh” of Prime Minister Theresa May’s team while the Labour saw it as a “pointless and lacklustre PR exercise”, but her team now has the highest number of Indian-origin ministers in British history — four.
The Indian diaspora is now represented by a minister of state (Alok Sharma) and three junior ministers (Rishi Sunak, Shailesh Vara and Suella Fernandes). Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, and Fernandes are first-time ministers.
Called “parliamentary undersecretary of state”, the junior ministers are the third and lowest tier in the hierarchy in a ministry, after the secretary (cabinet level) and minister of state. Their role includes coordination and specific roles within the ministry.
The only Indian-origin minister to hold a cabinet position so far was Priti Patel, whose tenure as the secretary of international development lasted less than six months – July to November 2017, when she was dropped for her ministerial overreach during a holiday in Israel.
In the charged Brexit atmosphere, May has been performing a balancing act between the rival camps in the Conservative Party and the ministerial team. She may not have intended it but the four Indian-origin ministers are equally divided on the issue.
Sharma coordinated the pro-EU “British Indians for IN” campaign before the 2016 referendum. The campaign was supported by most Indian-origin MPs, including Shailesh Vara, who has previously held junior ministerial posts.
Sunak and Fernandes are firmly in the pro-Brexit camp. Fernandes chairs the European Research Group of Conservative MPs that acts as an influential pressure group to hold the government to account on the direction and details of ongoing talks in Brussels and London.