Labour Party appointed first turban-wearing Sikh in the House of Lords
India-born Kuldeep Singh Sahota has become the first Labor peer to wear a turban and the only Sikh on the Labor bench in the House of Lords. Sahota, 71, who has served as a councillor on Telford and Wrekin Council for 21 years from 2001, was nominated by Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and will thus be addressed as Lord Sahota. Sahota was on the honour list for former UK PM Boris Johnson's public service and is appointed by the king.
Muskan 
India-born Kuldeep Singh Sahota has become the first turban-wearing Labor peer and the only Sikh on the Labor Bench in the House of Lords. Sahota, 71, who served as a councillor on Telford and Wrekin Council for 21 years from 2001, was nominated by Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and will thus be addressed as Lord Sahota. Sahota was on the honour list for former UK PM Boris Johnson's public service. In the UK, a 'peer' is appointed by the monarch to serve in public life on the advice of the prime minister. Sir Nicholas Soames, who is the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, is also on the list of PM Johnson.
Sahota was nominated by Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and would be known as Lord Sahota. He is the third Sikh to wear a turban in the Second Chamber of the UK Parliament. Lord Singh of Wimbledon was the first fellow to wear a turban. He was made a cross-bench life peer in 2011 and Lord Suri was second when he was made a Conservative life peer in 2014.
Nina Gill, president of Sikh for Labor, a group promoting shared values, said Kuldeep became the first turban-wearing Sikh on the Labor Bench in the House of Lords and will serve as a role model for Sikhs across the community.
He has also served as the chairman of the West Midlands Labor Party Regional Board. Sahota was born in Gaddiwala, Hoshiarpur, Punjab and moved to the UK to live with his father in 1966 at the age of 14. He has two eldest sons and two grandchildren, all of whom live in Telford. In addition to being a Labor Party member and activist for more than 25 years, Sahota has volunteered in a number of roles in the community in the West Midlands.
Members of the House of Lords are sometimes referred to as peers. Most of the members are life peers, although 92 of these sit by hereditary title. Lord Singh (Indrajit Singh) of Wimbledon was the first fellow to wear a turban. He was made a Cross-Bench Life Peer in 2011 and Lord Suri (Ranbir Singh Suri) was second when he was made a Conservative Life Peer in 2014.
