Onkar Sahota

Onkar Sahota is a British Labour Party politician who has been the member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon since 2012, when he became the first Labour candidate to be elected in Ealing and Hillingdon.[1] He was re-elected in 2016 with an increased majority.[2]

Onkar Sahota

AM
Member of the London Assembly
for Ealing and Hillingdon
Assumed office
4 May 2012
Preceded byRichard Barnes
Majority15,933 (7.9%)
Personal details
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
ResidenceSouthall and Ealing
Alma materUniversity of Sheffield
ProfessionDoctor

Early life

Onkar Sahota grew up in Southall during the 1960s as one of five children, having three sisters and a brother, his parents having moved to the UK from India.[3] His father originally worked for British Airways before his entrepreneurial inclination led to him opening his own greengrocery.[4]

Sahota said that as a young boy he always wanted to be a doctor, a dream which he achieved. He studied medicine at the University of Sheffield and graduated in 1983. He now is 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. He currently serves as London Assembly Labour Group's lead spokesperson on health and is Chair of the Assembly's Health Committee.[5]

Policy

Sahota has opposing the planned closure of accident and emergency (A&E) ward at Ealing Hospital as his main priority. He started a petition to assist the cause, hoping that ultimately the A&E ward would remain open to the benefit of the whole community.[6] The campaign ultimately proved successful.[7] Sahota has also campaigned on issues including the Southall Waterside development[8] and the impact of budgetary pressures on London's accident and emergency departments.[9]

References
  1. http://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/results-and-past-elections/results-2012
  2. "Ealing & Hillington 2016 results | London Elects" (PDF). londonelects.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. http://www.dronkarsahota.com/about
  4. http://www.dronkarsahota.com/about-onkar/
  5. "London Assembly – Membership of Committees/Bodies and Terms of Reference 2019/20 | London Assembly" (PDF). london.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. http://www.dronkarsahota.com/campaigns/petitions-to-save-ealing-central-middlesex-hospitals/
  7. "Ealing and Charing Cross A&E closure plans scrapped | BBC News". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  8. "Families hit out at London gasworks redevelopment | The Guardian". guardian.com. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  9. "Austerity: overstretching our A&E departments | London City Hall". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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