Kanishka Narayan

British politician

Kanishka Narayan MP

Member of Parliament for the Vale of Glamorgan
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 July 2024
Preceded by	Alun Cairns
Majority	4,216 (9.2%)

Personal details
Born	Bihar, India
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Eton College University of Oxford (PPE) Stanford University (MBA)^[1]

Kanishka Narayan (born c.1991)^[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.

Early life and education

Narayan was born in Bihar, India. His family moved to Cardiff when he was 12 years old^[1] and he grew up in the city.^[3] He spent one year at Cathays High School, but then went to Eton College in Berkshire with the help of a scholarship.^[4] He studied PPE at Balliol College, Oxford^[5] before gaining an MBA from Stanford University in the USA.^[1]

Narayan says he joined the Labour Party when he was 18.^[3]

Career

Narayan was a civil servant in the Cabinet Office under David Cameron and also at the Environment Department under Liz Truss.^[1] He has also worked in the private sector giving financial advice to businesses.^[6]

Narayan has also volunteered with the Citizens Advice and The Trussell Trust.^[6]

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.^[1]

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".^[7]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Prince, Rosa (August 2023). "London Playbook - Postcard from Vale of Glamorgan". Politico. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ "Vale of Glamorgan | General Election 2024 | Sky News". election.news.sky.com. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b Jamshidian, Harry (20 June 2024). "Labour's Kanishka Narayan ready for General Election fight". Barry and District News. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ Courea, Eleni (5 June 2024). "Rising stars who could play a big part in a Labour government". theguardian.com. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^ "Alumni success in general election 2024 | Balliol College". www.balliol.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b Mosalski, Ruth; Summer, Ben (3 July 2020). "General election 2024: Find out more about the candidates standing in the Vale of Glamorgan". Wales Online. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
^ Lewis, Rowenna; Fairclough, Stephen; Lewis, Rhodri (5 July 2024). "Wales' first ethnic minority MP hopes to inspire". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
^ "UK Election: Record Number Of Indian-Origin MPs". NDTV.