Member for Dewsbury since 2005. Committees: Member, Labour Party's National Executive Committee 2000–05; Member, Economic Policy Commission; Vice-Chair, NEC Women, Race and Equalities Committee; Chair, Labour Party's Ethnic Minority Forum. Political career: 22 years Labour Party Membership; Member, Labour Party Development Taskforce; Advisor, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Advisor, Community Cohesion Unit, Home Office. Special political interests: Race relations (got hit on the head by Lancashire police during Burnley riots in 2001 - police apologised); crime reduction, social justice; human rights. Languages spoken: Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi. Affiliations: Fellow, Institute of Management; Fellow, Royal Society of Arts.
b. 24 November 1967, Burnley.

2005				2001
LAB HOLD	Votes	%	+/- %	Votes	%
Labour	15,807	41.0	-9.6	18,524	50.5
Conservative	11,192	29	1.2	11,075	30.2
Lib Dem	5,624	14.6	2.6	4,382	12
BNP	5,066	13.1	8.7	1,632	4.5
Green	593	1.5	0.0	560	1.5
Independent	313	0.8	-	-	-
UKIP	-	-	-	478	1.3
Majority	4,615	11.9		7,449	20.3
Turnout	38,595	62.0	3.2	36,651	58.8