Shaffaq Mohammed, Baron Mohammed of Tinsley, (born 21 July 1972) is a British politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

. He served as a Liberal Democrats

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for the

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from 2019 until

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in 2020. He stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Sheffield Hallam in the House of Commons at the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, coming second to Olivia Blake of Labour. In February 2025, he became a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Early life

Mohammed was born on 21 July 1972 in Mirpur, a city in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. He was aged four when his family moved to the United Kingdom. In April 1977 he moved to Sheffield and studied at Park House school and later on graduated from the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

Political career

Sheffield City Council

Between 2004 and 2014 Mohammed served as the Liberal Democrat councillor for Broomhill Ward on

Sheffield City Council Sheffield City Council is the local authority for the City of Sheffield, a metropolitan borough with city status in South Yorkshire, England. The council consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. ...

. He contested Crookes Ward in 2014 and was defeated. He returned as a councillor for Ecclesall Ward in 2016 and was re-elected in 2018. Mohammed was elected as leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Sheffield City Council in May 2011. He lost this position when he lost his seat as a councillor in 2014. Following his return to the council he was re-elected as group leader in May 2016. In the 2015 Dissolution Honours, Mohammed 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) "for political service" as a councillor on

European Parliament

Mohammed served as a Liberal Democrats

(MEP) for the

from 2019 to 2020. He lost his seat when the United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

UK Parliament

House of Commons

Mohammed stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the

2016 Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough by-election On 5 May 2016, a by-election was held in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliamentary constituency of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough (UK Parliament constituency), Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough in South Yorkshire. It was ...

, where he finished third with 6.1% of the vote. Mohammed was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Sheffield Central constituency in the 2017 general election, coming fourth with 5.1% of the vote. Mohammed was selected in 2023 to contest former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's seat of Sheffield Hallam at the

. Sheffield Hallam was considered to be a marginal seat between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Mohammed finished second with 30.4% of the vote.

House of Lords

In December 2024, as part of the

2024 Political Peerages A list of nominations for life peerages was announced by the Prime Minister's Office on 20 December 2024. Life Peerages Labour *Prof. Wendy Alexander, – Vice Chair of the British Council, former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley No ...

, it was announced that Mohammed would receive a

age to sit in the

. He was created ''Baron Mohammed of Tinsley, of Sheffield in the County of South Yorkshire'' on 21 February 2025, where he sits as a Liberal Democrat

member of the House of Lords This is a list of current members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual Twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammed, Shaffaq 1972 births Living people MEPs for England 2019–2020 Liberal Democrats (UK) MEPs Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peers created by Charles III Members of the Order of the British Empire Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Councillors in Sheffield British people of Azad Kashmiri descent Alumni of the University of Sheffield