Sonia Kumar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sonia Kumar | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Dudley | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Marco Longhi |
| Majority | 1,900 (5.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Aston University[1] |
Sonia Kumar is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dudley since 2024.
Kumar was an NHS physiotherapist before becoming an MP.[2]
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Kumar's opponent Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley, was accused of "dog-whistle" tactics against Kumar. His campaign sent leaflets to British Pakistani and Kashmiri Muslims drawing attention to Kumar's Hindu surname (writing it in capital letters and underlined), arguing that she would not support Kashmir while in Parliament.[3] She was later elected MP for Dudley with 12,215 votes (34%).[4][5] She said that trust played a crucial role in her victory.[6] In March 2026 Sonia was appointed Cabinet Parliamentary Private Secretary to Darren Jones, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Kumar graduated from Aston University two weeks after the election. Keir Starmer gave her the day off in order to attend.[1]
References
- 1 2 "From postgrad to Parliament: Dudley's first female MP graduates from Aston University | Aston University". www.aston.ac.uk.
- ↑ Lawson, Eleanor (30 May 2024). "Labour selects general election candidate for Dudley". BBC News. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ↑ Adu, Aletha (18 June 2024). "Tory candidate accused of dog-whistle tactics against rival with Indian name". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- ↑ "Dudley | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ↑ World News (5 July 2024). "UK Election: Record Number Of Indian-Origin MPs". NDTV. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ↑ Smith, Martyn (5 July 2024). "Dudley's new Labour MP Sonia Kumar says trust was a big part of her victory". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
External links
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
