“I’ve got bags of optimism for us as a party if we can get our act together,” says Shivani Raja, the newly elected British Indian member of Parliament from Leicester East.
The Conservative Party MP is backing former home secretary James Cleverly as the candidate to succeed Rishi Sunak as the Opposition Leader and introduced him during his leadership hustings this week.
“Our party is brimming with potential, and with James’ experience, communication, and record of delivery, I have faith in James’ vision. I believe that he has what it takes to get our party and country back where it belongs – on top,” she shared.
As the House of Commons returns from its summer recess, Raja has also hit the ground running with her campaign against the Labour government’s rollback of the Winter Fuel Payments for many pensioners. Raja is backing a petition against the policy, which she has dubbed as cruel.
She notes: “I have been clear from the start about my opposition to this cruel policy and I will continue to speak out against it. Our pensioners deserve better than this and with cynicism in politics running at a record high this decision by Labour, one of the first it made when it came to power, whilst at no stage mentioning it during the general election, only adds into that cynicism.
“Labour needs to reverse this decision now and restore the winter fuel allowance to all pensioners. I have added my name to the petition and I hope others will too so we can send a clear message to the new government that targeting our pensioners is not something we will stand for.”
Away from the political campaigns, she also took time out to visit the High Commission of India in London.
The newest MP of Indian heritage as part of the 2024 intake in the Commons said she was “honoured” to visit India House and meet the Deputy High Commissioner, Sujit Ghosh, to discuss strengthening the living bridge bonds.
The Conservative Party leadership contest will face its first round of votes this week, when one of the six candidates vying to succeed Sunak is knocked out of the race. Besides Cleverly, British Indian MP for Witham, Essex, Priti Patel is fighting it out with former ministers Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Mel Stride and Robert Jenrick for the top job.
