Onkar Sahota
{{Short description|British Labour Party politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Onkar Sahota
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Onkar Sahota.jpg
| office = Deputy Chair of the London Assembly
| term_start = 4 May 2023
| term_end = 6 May 2024
| predecessor = Andrew Boff
| successor = Len Duvall
| office1 = Chair of the London Assembly
| deputy1 = Andrew Boff
| term_start1 = May 2022
| term_end1 = 4 May 2023
| predecessor1 = Andrew Boff
| successor1 = Andrew Boff
| office2 = Member of the London Assembly
for Ealing and Hillingdon
| term_start2 = 4 May 2012
| term_end2 = 6 May 2024
| majority2 = 8,242 (4.0%)
| predecessor2 = Richard Barnes
| successor2 = Bassam Mahfouz
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Punjab, India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| spouse =
| party = Labour
| relations =
| children =
| residence = Southall and Ealing
| alma_mater = University of Sheffield
| occupation =
| profession = Doctor
| religion =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| caption = Sahota in 2022
}}
Onkar Sahota is a British Labour Party politician and general practitioner who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2022 to 2023. He was Deputy Chair of the London Assembly from 2023 to 2024, and the first Labour member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon, from 2012 until 2024.{{Cite web |url=http://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/results-and-past-elections/results-2012 |title=Results 2012 | London Elects |access-date=4 May 2012 |archive-date=4 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504221612/http://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/results-and-past-elections/results-2012 |url-status=dead }}
Early life
Onkar Sahota grew up in Southall during the 1960s as one of five children, having three sisters and a brother. His parents had moved to the UK from India.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dronkarsahota.com/about |title=About - Dr Onkar Sahota |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042652/http://www.dronkarsahota.com/about |url-status=dead }} His father worked for British Airways before opening his own greengrocers.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dronkarsahota.com/about-onkar/ |title=About Onkar | Dr. Onkar Sahota | Working Hard for Ealing & Hillingdon |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-date=6 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506224813/http://www.dronkarsahota.com/about-onkar/ |url-status=dead }}
He studied medicine at the University of Sheffield, graduating in 1983, and is now a general practitioner at a surgery in Southall.
Political career
In 2012, Sahota was elected the new member for Ealing & Hillingdon on a 9.2% swing, defeating incumbent Conservative member and Deputy Mayor of London Richard Barnes. Sahota was re-elected in 2016 with an increased majority.{{cite web|url=https://londonelects.org.uk/sites/default/files/Ealing%20%26%20Hillingdon.pdf|title=Ealing & Hillington 2016 results | London Elects|publisher=londonelects.org.uk|access-date=2019-08-14}} He served as the London Assembly Labour Group's lead spokesperson on health and was Chair of the Assembly's Health Committee.{{cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/membership_grid_2019-20.pdf|title=London Assembly – Membership of Committees/Bodies and Terms of Reference 2019/20 | London Assembly|publisher=london.gov.uk|access-date=2019-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814185249/https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/membership_grid_2019-20.pdf|archive-date=14 August 2019|url-status=dead}}
Sahota was re-elected in 2021 but with his majority halved.{{cite web |url=https://www.londonelects.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-05/Ealing%20and%20Hillingdon%202021.pdf |title=London Elects |publisher=www.londonelects.org.uk |access-date=2023-01-21}} In May 2022, Sahota was elected as Chair of the London Assembly.{{cite web |title=London Assembly appoints new Chairs {{!}} London City Hall |url=https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/assembly/london-assembly-appoints-new-chairs |website=www.london.gov.uk |access-date=14 January 2023 |language=en}}
Policy
Sahota opposes the planned closure of the accident and emergency (A&E) ward at Ealing Hospital, and launched a petition to keep the facility open.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dronkarsahota.com/campaigns/petitions-to-save-ealing-central-middlesex-hospitals/ |title=Petitions to Save Ealing & Central Middlesex Hospitals | Dr. Onkar Sahota | Working Hard for Ealing & Hillingdon |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-date=22 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522050636/http://www.dronkarsahota.com/campaigns/petitions-to-save-ealing-central-middlesex-hospitals/ |url-status=dead }} The campaign was ultimately successful and the closure plans were scrapped.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47708750|title=Ealing and Charing Cross A&E closure plans scrapped | BBC News|work=BBC News|date=26 March 2019|access-date=2019-08-14}} Sahota has also campaigned on issues including the Southall Waterside development and the impact of budgetary pressures on London's accident and emergency departments.{{cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/node/51418|title=Austerity: overstretching our A&E departments | London City Hall|date=26 April 2019|publisher=london.gov.uk|access-date=2019-08-14}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/04/brownfield-site-new-homes-building-wrecking-health-southall|title=Families hit out at London gasworks redevelopment |work=The guardian|date=5 May 2019 |access-date=2019-08-14}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Current London Assembly members}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahota, Onkar}}
Category:20th-century British medical doctors
Category:Labour Members of the London Assembly
Category:Labour Co-operative Members of the London Assembly
Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:British people of Indian descent