Imran Ahmad Khan (British politician)

Ahmad Khan defeated the incumbent Labour MP, Mary Creagh, to become the first Conservative MP for the constituency in 89 years.[11]Wakefield voted almost 2-to-1 in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum and was a target seat for the Conservatives.[10] He was selected after the withdrawal of a candidate whose racist and sexist social media posts were uncovered.[12] Labour's Creagh said: "Will the next candidate they parachute in be any better? Don’t hold your breath." Ahmad Khan responded by taking part in a skydive[13] over the town and retorted he was "a local lad born and bred in Wakefield, of Wakefield stock. I couldn't figuratively parachute in—and I didn't want to disappoint her—so I decided I would literally parachute in."[13]

The LGBT+ Conservatives group incorrectly described Ahmad Khan as 'openly gay' and he made news worldwide for becoming the first openly gay Muslim to be elected. They subsequently clarified that Ahmad Khan "fully endorses" the group's aims "but is not an out LGBT MP".[14][15] The confusion arose after a mistaken application to a fund to help LGBT+ Conservative candidates.[16]

In his maiden speech in January 2020, Ahmad Khan paid tribute to his predecessor and spoke of his pleasure at being part of "a vibrant and dynamic pack of Yorkshire MPs". He called for equality of opportunity to be made real, and for more patriotism: "I see perhaps more clearly than most the deep and enduring importance of core British values such as compassion, tolerance and fairness, especially at a time when those values are perceived as under threat in many parts of our world."[17]

Ahmad Khan is a member of the Backbench Business Committee.

Ahmad Khan organised a shipment of 110,000 reusable face masks through connections with the charity Solidarités international and the Vietnamese Government. Most of the masks were for the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust's Pontefract, Pinderfields and Dewsbury and District Hospitals and 10,000 were distributed by the trust to local care homes and hospices.[4][18] He launched 'Wakefield Together' to co-ordinate local efforts to tackle difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

Ahmad Khan helped secure £2.9 million for Wakefield’s art hubs, including Theatre Royal Wakefield, the Creative Art House and West Yorkshire Theatre Dance Centre via Culture Recovery Fund.[19]

Ahmad Khan supported Britain's departure from the European Union. In an interview with Channel 4 he attributed his success in the 2019 general election to "Islington Remainers" who branded Leave voters "stupid, uneducated, racist or wrong".[20] He has stated that he decided to stand in the election because he came to believe British democracy was "under threat".[6]

In September 2020, in a debate about the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, Ahmad Khan declared: "I am an ardent supporter of Brexit and look forward eagerly to the opportunity to bolster the United Kingdom’s position by becoming an independent, self-governing nation, possessed of the confidence that flows from our vision and principled values". In his speech, he went on to explain his concerns over the Internal Market Bill before backing the legislation.[21]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Khan was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[22]

Ahmad Khan supports the Yorkshire Devolution Movement and called for the devolved West Yorkshire authority to be based in Wakefield. In Rishi Sunak's 2020 Budget, West Yorkshire was allocated £1.8bn with a £317m investment in transport and the election of a Mayor of West Yorkshire, a position which in addition to budgetary control will assume the powers of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.[23]