Professor Swaran Singh / Image: University of Warwick website
Indian-origin psychiatrist and academic Professor Swaran Singh has been nominated for a life peerage and secured a seat in the House of Lords as part of a new slate of political appointments announced ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s departure from Downing Street next week, PTI reported.Singh, professor of social and community psychiatry at the University of Warwick and consultant psychiatrist at the NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership, is among three candidates put forward by the Conservative Party.
It is expected that the peerage will be formally bestowed by King Charles III following recommendations made through the UK’s resignation honors process.Singh, a former commissioner at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, famously led an independent investigation into discrimination within the Conservative Party, including allegations of Islamophobia, in a review that became known as the “Singh Inquiry”.According to his profile at the University of Warwick, Singh initially trained as a surgeon in New Delhi before turning to psychiatry after witnessing the long-term effects of violent trauma on children and young people. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1991 and built his academic career researching the impact of race on mental health. He currently directs the university’s Center for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research.
The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has also been nominated for a life peerage and is set to become Lord Sadiq Khan. The Labor politician, who has been Mayor of London since 2016, is among 16 candidates put forward by Starmer.Labour’s candidates also include Parfait Jabbar, a human rights lawyer of South Asian descent and co-founder of the Death Penalty Project.Downing Street said the 26 appointments form part of a cross-party list that had already been drawn up before Starmer announced last month that he would step down as Labor leader.Starmer is due to meet King Charles III on Monday to formally submit his resignation as Prime Minister, with Andy Burnham set to succeed him. Once candidates complete the required vetting process, the King officially grants a peerage for life on the advice of the Prime Minister, allowing recipients to take up seats in the House of Lords.
