Mohammad Saqib Bhatti (born 18 June 1985) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Meriden and Solihull East Meriden and Solihull East is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested in the 2024 general election. It is represented by Conservative Pa ...

, formerly Meriden, since the 2019 general election. He previously served as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy The parliamentary under-secretary of state for AI and Digital Government is a junior position in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in the British government. Responsibilities The minister has responsibility of the followi ...

from 2023 to 2024 and as the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Business from 2022 to 2023. Prior to serving in parliament, Bhatti founded the pro-

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

group Muslims for Britain, which advocated for leaving the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) in the 2016 referendum. He currently serves as Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport.

Early life and education

Bhatti was born and raised in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, West Midlands,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in a Pakistani immigrant family from

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. His father, Younis Bhatti, is from

Gujar Khan Gujar Khan ( ; ) is a city in Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is also the headquarters of Gujar Khan Tehsil, the largest tehsil of Punjab by land area. Gujar Khan is located approximately southeast of Islamabad, the capital of Pak ...

, while his mother is from

Murree Murree () is a mountain resort city in the northernmost region of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Lying in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range under the western Himalayas, it forms the outskirts of the Islamabad–Rawal ...

. Younis is UK secretary general of the Al-Shifa Eye Trust, a Pakistan-based eyecare hospital that provides treatment to individuals who cannot afford it. Bhatti was privately educated at King Edwards VI School in Edgbaston, before studying law at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE), from where he graduated with an LLB (Hons) degree. Whilst at university, he served as president of the LSE Pakistan Society.

Early career

Bhatti is an accountant by profession. In 2018, he became the President of the Greater Birmingham

Chambers of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to adv ...

, becoming the youngest person and first Muslim to hold the post. Bhatti founded the group Muslims for Britain which campaigned for the UK to leave the EU during the

Brexit referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

. He argued that EU policy prevented immigration from South Asia and that leaving the EU would make it easier. he was a senior policy adviser with the

Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party or simply ECR), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR, 2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE, 2016–2019), is a ...

Member of Parliament

After

Caroline Spelman Dame Caroline Alice Spelman (' Cormack; born 4 May 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands from 1997 to 2019. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the ...

announced she was standing down as an MP, Bhatti was selected to represent the Conservative seat of Meriden at the 2019 general election, beating the political adviser

Nick Timothy Nicholas James Timothy (born March 1980) is a British politician and former special adviser who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk since 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as joint Downing ...

in the ballot of party members. Saqib was appointed Private Parliamentary Secretary

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...

, the then Secretary of State to the Department for International Trade in 2020. He then moved to the

Department for Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

where he served as Private Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon.

Sajid Javid Sir Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the ...

MP, whom he followed in resigning on 5 July 2022 in the aftermath of the

Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal was a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's ...

. On 30 September 2022, Bhatti became the Conservative Party's Vice Chair for Business.

Leadership election positions

In the July–September 2022 Conservative leadership election, Bhatti endorsed

, stating that Truss "understands that for businesses to thrive, the government needs to get out of the way."

Honours

Bhatti was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

"for services to diversity and inclusion in the business community", while he was President of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Bhatti also holds an honorary doctorate from

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first College of a ...

in Business Administration.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatti, Saqib 1985 births Living people UK MPs 2019–2024 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English people of Pakistani descent English accountants English Muslims Alumni of the London School of Economics Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Walsall UK MPs 2024–present