Wajid Khan, Baron Khan of Burnley
{{short description|British politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{COI|date=May 2018}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2017}}
}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable
| name = The Lord Khan of Burnley
| honorific-suffix = FHEA
| image = Official portrait of Lord Khan of Burnley crop 2, 2024.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Official portrait, 2024
| office = Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement
| term_start = 9 July 2024
| primeminister = Keir Starmer
| predecessor = The Baroness Scott of Bybrook
| office1 = Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
| term_start1 = 2 March 2021
Life peerage
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| office2 = Member of the European Parliament
for North West England
| term_start2 = 29 June 2017
| term_end2 = 1 July 2019
| predecessor2 = Afzal Khan
| successor2 = Gina Dowding
| term_start3 = May 2020
| term_end3 = May 2021
| predecessor3 = Cllr Anne Kelly
| successor3 = Cllr Cosima Towneley
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|10|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = Burnley, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
| residence =
| party = Labour
| nationality =
| alma_mater = University of Central Lancashire (LLB, LLM)
| occupation =
| website = http://www.wajidkhan.org/
| awards = {{plainlist|
}}
}}
Wajid Iltaf Khan, Baron Khan of Burnley (born 15 October 1979), is a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2017 to 2019{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/188624/WAJID_KHAN_home.html|title=Wajid KHAN {{!}} Home {{!}} MEPs {{!}} European Parliament|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|language=en|access-date=2017-09-14}} and as Mayor of Burnley from 2020 to 2021. He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement since July 2024.{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: July 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-july-2024 |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement) - GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state--253 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.gov.uk |language=en}}
He sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee and Human Rights Committee, as well as the Arab Peninsula and South Asia delegations. His main policy interests include workers’ rights, youth empowerment and human rights.
In December 2020, it was announced he would be conferred a life peerage after a nomination by Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer.{{cite web |title=Political Peerages 2020 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/political-peerages-2020 |website=Gov.uk |access-date=22 December 2020}}
Early life
The son of a taxi driver and a house-wife, Wajid was born in Burnley, Lancashire, where he continues to live with his wife and two children. He read for a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Master of Laws (European Law) degree at the University of Central Lancashire, working as a taxi driver to fund his studies.
Career
Before becoming an MEP, Wajid was a senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire for 12 years, and a course leader in community leadership for 11 years.
Prior to this, Wajid worked in the voluntary sector with young offenders, as well as teaching education programmes for homeless young people. The Burnley race riots in 2001 inspired Wajid to develop a number of community cohesion projects, which gained him the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) Volunteering Award for social and community cohesion in 2004.
Wajid's work in community development has seen him address the Civil G8 on inclusive education in Moscow, and advised the Russian Ministry of Education and Science on developing youth strategies.
He has contributed to European-wide ‘Volunteurope’ conferences in Germany, France, Poland, Bosnia and Italy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.uclan.ac.uk/staff_profiles/wajid_khan.php|title=Staff Profiles / Wajid Khan |website=uclan.ac.uk |publisher=University of Central Lancashire |access-date=2020-02-20}}
Within the UK, Wajid has developed higher education programmes to increase academic participation amongst women in the south Asian community. Wajid has directed international leadership conferences in Oman, Turkey, Pakistan and the US, and has represented the University of Central Lancashire in collaborative projects with Russian NGOs.
Wajid is an alumnus of both of HRH Prince Charles' leadership initiatives: the Mosaic international Leadership Programme as well as the Oxford Young Muslim Leadership Programme.
He also serves on the Labour Party National Policy Forum and International Policy Commission, in addition to serving on the North West regional board.{{Cite news|url=http://www.wajidkhan.org/about_wajid|title=About Wajid|work=Wajid Khan MEP|access-date=2017-09-14|language=en}}
Member of the European Parliament
Khan was included in Labour's eight-person shortlist for the 2014 European Parliament election.{{cite news|url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10476734.councillor-burnley-shortlist-next-years-european-parliament-elections/ |title=A councillor from Burnley is on shortlist for next year's European Parliament elections |date=12 June 2013 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |accessdate=2020-02-20}}
He took over the North West England seat in July 2017, replacing Afzal Khan who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the general election.{{cite news|url=https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/news/movers-and-shakers-3-july-2017 |author=Ifigenia Balkoura |title=Movers and Shakers 3 July 2017 |website=theparliamentmagazine.eu |publisher=Dods Group PLC |accessdate=2020-02-20}} As an MEP he was the Labour Spokesperson for Human Rights, and sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Human Rights Committee. He lost his seat in the 2019 European Parliament election.
House of Lords
Lord Khan joined the House of Lords in February 2021 and has held several Opposition Posts. Since May 2021 he has been an Opposition Whip in the House of Lords, and in December 2021 he was appointed Shadow Spokesperson for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government.[https://members.parliament.uk/member/4913/career UK Parliament. Lord Khan of Burnley]. Retrieved 11 October 2024 Following the formation of the Starmer Government in July 2024 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Faith, Communities and Resettlement.
References
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Category:Academics of the University of Central Lancashire
Category:Alumni of the University of Central Lancashire
Category:English people of Pakistani descent
Category:Labour Party (UK) life peers
Category:Labour Party (UK) MEPs
Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Category:MEPs for England 2014–2019