Shockat Hussain Adam Patel (born November 1972) is a Malawi-born British businessman,

optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

, and

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Leicester South since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. In September 2024 he was a founder of the Independent Alliance.

Early life and career

Adam was born in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, into a Muslim

Memon Memon may refer to: Ethnic group and language * Memon people, Sunni Muslim community in Gujarat, India and Sindh, Pakistan ** Memons (Kathiawar) ** Kutchi Memon, from Kutch, Gujarat *** Kutchi Memons in Bombay ** Bantva Memons, from Bantva, Gujara ...

family of Gujarati descent and grew up in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, where he attended sixth-form college. He studied optometry at the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

. He is a director of Sask Optics which is owned by him, his wife and his brother Ismail Patel. Adam was the former Leicester chair of Muslim Engagement and Development, and spoke out against the 2022 Leicester unrest between Hindu and Muslim communities in the city. Prior to his candidacy, Adam had never been a member of a political party nor had public social media. In the 2019 general election he had supported Labour Party candidate Claudia Webbe's campaign in Leicester East. Adam has previously hosted hustings, and aided people in contacting their MP.

Parliamentary career

Adam was elected in the 2024 general election as an

, beating Labour candidate and Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth in a result that was described as an upset. Backlash against Labour's position on the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

was a factor in Adam's victory, with Adam saying "this is for Gaza" while holding a

Palestinian keffiyeh The Palestinian ''keffiyeh'' () is a distinctly patterned black-and-white ''keffiyeh''. White keffiyehs had been traditionally worn by Palestinian peasants and bedouins to protect from the sun, when Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire. ...

aloft when the results were announced. In an interview with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', Adam said his victory was not sectarian, and highlighted his concerns and campaigning regarding the

housing crisis An affordable housing crisis or housing crisis is either a widespread housing shortage in places where people want to live or a financial crisis in the housing market. Housing crises can contribute to homelessness and housing insecurity. They are ...

and the state of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

. On 19 July 2024, the Foreign Secretary,

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy FRSA (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician who has served as Foreign Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham since 2000. Lammy previously held vario ...

, announced in parliament that the United Kingdom would resume funding to the UN Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). In a statement, Adam supported the move and described it as a result of pro-Palestinian protesters from all backgrounds. Adam apologised for not being present in parliament due to

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s he had received. He thanked

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and Cambridgeshire police for their assistance, and stated that he would not be deterred from his work. Adam sponsored the Independent—

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

"Amendment B" to abolish the

two child benefit cap The benefit cap is a UK welfare policy that limits the amount in state benefits that an individual household can claim per year. It was introduced by the Cameron–Clegg coalition government in 2013 as part of the coalition government's wide-r ...

, and voted in support of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

's "Amendment D" to abolish the cap. Shortly after the vote Shockat Adam,

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, and Iqbal Mohamed produced a joint letter decrying the two major parties and stating the need for a caring alternative. Adam and Corbyn had been in discussions with Khan, Hussain, and Mohamed regarding how to impact policy, with Adam stating that the five were "looking at options that would give us more access to the levers of power". On 2 September 2024, Adam was a founding member of the Independent Alliance parliamentary group. The group has five members. In October, Adam introduced a

private members bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

for the UK to recognise the State of Palestine. The bill is sponsored by the four other members of the Independent Alliance, as well as

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (; born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who has served as the member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion since July 2024, succeeding Caroline Lucas. She was a co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongsid ...

Stephen Gethins Stephen Patrick Gethins (born 28 March 1976) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and academic serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry since the 2024 general election. He previously served as the MP ...

Brendan O'Hara Brendan O'Hara (born 27 April 1963) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He serves as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber since the 2024 United Kingdo ...

, Liz Saville-Roberts, Kim Johnson, and Ian Byrne.

Personal life

He is the brother of Ismail Patel, the founder of the Friends of Al-Aqsa NGO based in Leicester.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Shockat 1972 births Alumni of the University of Manchester British activists for Palestinian solidarity British Muslim activists British optometrists English people of Gujarati descent Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Leicester UK MPs 2024–present