About Me
South Wales has given me and my family so much of what we cherish: a warm welcome for my parents and their two young boys; the dignity of decent work in our public services; the promise of future opportunity in education and work.
I am determined to give back and am privileged to have the chance to do so as the Welsh Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan.
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My mission: to spread opportunity to every child in the Vale of Glamorgan, and across Wales
Born in Bihar, India, I moved to Cardiff with my family at the age of 12. We were in a modest one-bedroom flat in Bedford Street. Each morning, my brother and I walked to Cathays High School to get a good Welsh education. My mum and dad still live and work within walking distance of where we grew up.
For me, as for so many others, teachers changed the course of my life. One of them carried an irrational belief in my ability and urged me to apply for scholarships to private schools. I still remember the day I asked our Headteacher, Mr Phillips, to sign a scholarship form for Eton College as he broke up a school-bus fight. He seemed totally surprised. My youthful naivety ignored it.
I have had the deepest privileges of education since – generous bursary support that allowed me to attend Eton; undergraduate education in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford; an MBA at Stanford University in the USA. Throughout it, I have never forgotten a simple reality: there was no difference in talent between my friends at Cathays in Cardiff, and my friends at each of the institutions I experienced since. There was only difference in opportunity.
That simple reality is why I founded Attain Wales at university, a mentoring programme to support Welsh state school kids get access to top universities. It’s why I cofounded a student thinktank to tackle homelessness. And now, it’s why I pursue politics with a simple mission: to spread opportunity to every child in the Vale of Glamorgan, and across Wales.
Work and community: international experience, grounded in Wales
I am determined to bring everything I have learnt - from the heart of government, from business across the UK and Silicon Valley, and from community work – to the service of the Vale of Glamorgan.
In government, I advised Cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister at both the Business department and the Cabinet Office as Economist and Senior Adviser. I then served as Expert Adviser to Britain’s Environment Secretary, helping write the UK’s 25-year environment plan to protect the nature and landscape that defines our country.
In business, I worked at Lazard, advising FTSE boards, government finance ministries, and tech start-up entrepreneurs across Europe and the US. After completing my MBA, I entered global technology, spending time in Silicon Valley and the UK. I supported leading entrepreneurs in AI, fintech, and climate change initiatives. Later, I used this experience to serve as Head of Tech Policy for Labour’s Shadow Digital Secretary. I remain convinced that changing technology offers the greatest opportunity for the Vale, and for Britain, to reclaim its proud heritage of innovation.
At the heart of my work, I have valued deep community engagement. I used my experience in finance to produce national research on supporting households in severe debt, and volunteered with Citizens Advice and the Trussell Trust.
As Labour’s MP candidate and now MP, my campaign was built on relentless door-to-door engagement and an unwavering commitment to local issues: my volunteer team and I knocked 30,000 doors, delivered medicines as volunteers, picked litter, delivered post with the Royal Mail, raised money for RNLI, and supported our veterans.
In the 2024 general election, I proudly won the Vale of Glamorgan seat, returning it to Labour after 14 years of Conservative representation. Shortly after, I was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where I work to shape policy in areas including environmental sustainability, rural affairs, and food systems.
I continue to live in the Vale of Glamorgan, close to my family and the community that has shaped my journey. My path—from the warmest community in Cardiff to the halls of Parliament—motivates me each day to bring opportunity and a passion for public service to every kid in the Vale of Glamorgan and across the UK.
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