Kanishka Narayan
British politician (born 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kanishka Narayan (born November 1989)[1] is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the Vale of Glamorgan since 2024.[2] A member of the Labour Party, he gained the seat from Conservative Alun Cairns. He has served as Minister for Artificial Intelligence since 2026, and previously served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety from 2025 to 2026.[3]
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Kanishka Narayan | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Minister for Artificial Intelligence | |
| Assumed office 20 July 2026 | |
| Prime Minister | Andy Burnham |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety | |
| In office 7 September 2025 – 20 July 2026 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Feryal Clark |
| Member of Parliament for Vale of Glamorgan | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Alun Cairns |
| Majority | 4,216 (9.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 1989 (age 36) Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India |
| Party | Labour |
| Education | Balliol College, Oxford (BA) Stanford University (MBA) |
Early life and education
Narayan was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. His family moved to Cardiff when he was 12 years old[4] and he grew up in the city[5] sleeping on the floor of his one-bedroom home off City Road.[6] He spent one year at Cathays High School, but then went to Eton College in Berkshire with the help of a scholarship.[7] He studied PPE at Balliol College, Oxford, before gaining an MBA from Stanford University in the USA.[4]
Narayan says he joined the Labour Party when he was 18.[5]
Career
Narayan was a civil servant in the Cabinet Office under David Cameron and also at the Environment Department under Liz Truss.[4] He has also worked in the private sector giving financial advice to businesses.[8]
Narayan has also volunteered with Citizens Advice and The Trussell Trust.[8]
Political career
In 2023 Narayan moved from Cardiff to live on the Waterfront in Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan, a couple of weeks after being selected as the Labour candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan constituency.[4]
Narayan gained the Vale of Glamorgan seat in the July 2024 general election, becoming Wales' first ethnic minority MP. The BBC described it as "one of the most significant developments since Lady Megan Lloyd George became the first woman MP from Wales, back in 1929".[9][10]
After the election he was appointed as parliamentary private secretary to Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[6] On 7 September 2025 he was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety a junior ministerial role in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.[11]
Narayan was appointed to become the first UK Minister for Artificial Intelligence on 20 July 2026, a role within the the newly formed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. This Ministerial role also attends cabinet.
