British-Pakistani lawyer, Labour's PM hopeful Keir Starmer go head-to-head in UK elections

LONDON: British-Pakistani lawyer Mehreen Malik is taking on Labour leader and prime minister hopeful Sir Keir Starmer in Central London's constituency for the 4th July elections, with the aim to prevent Sir Starmer from entering 10 Downing Street to lead the next government.

The Conservative Party has given the ticket to high-flying lawyer Malik to challenge former lawyer Sir Starmer who last won from the same London seat — and now trying to win it again as polls show Labour is headed for a huge majority to form the next government.

However, the key challenge to Starmer comes from Lahore-born Mehreen Malik — who is the niece of former Senate chairman Waseem Sajjad, daughter of Shahid Malik, Pakistan's former high commissioner to India, and grand daughter of a former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, who then went on to become the chief election commissioner for Pakistan.

She told Geo News she has entered this race with the objective to beat Sir Keir in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency.

The British-Pakistani lawyer told this reporter: "I am immensely proud to be given this opportunity as a Conservative Party candidate. It's truly a party of aspiration and I stand here today as a testament to that.

"This is a difficult seat to contest. When I moved to London to study to become a barrister, the very first place I lived was in this constituency at graduate student housing in London House in Mecklenburgh Square. I am a Londoner. I know the local issues and I know I can address these issues. I can go head-to-head with Sir Keir. He was a barrister and I studied as a barrister and am now a solicitor. I have worked in various legal firms in London and previously in Lahore, New York and New Delhi."

The city barrister said Starmer says he cares about the people of this constituency but seems to only pay lip service to the idea. She said: "While I campaign daily, knock on doors, and talk to the residents about local issues, I hear how he is totally absent from his home constituency. I have worked on issues around the housing crisis, costs of living crisis, crime and other important issues that impact Londoners."

Malik's interest in politics started when she would hear her father and uncle, Waseem Sajjad discuss politics at home, during Friday family meals.

She said: "I grew up as my Mamoo was entering the difficult world of Pakistani politics. My father was also a Pakistani diplomat. This was a household where politics was everywhere. We used to talk about politics every Friday on family meals. And it was inspiring. From a very young age that became part of my world and I learnt the values of justice and public service."

After coming to London around 20 years ago, she decided to get involved in law and politics to "be a voice for young girls who see me doing this, so they know that they too can do this " and "to inspire young girls to show them that you can come to this wonderful country, be who you are and do whatever you want to do".

Malik is the head of pro bono at a City law firm. Before joining the US firm in 2020, she was a senior associate at magic circle law firm, Clifford Chance, where she spent 10 years of her career in the firm’s global capital markets practice.

Labour leader Starmer has held the Holborn and St Pancras seat since 2015, and in the most recent election in 2019, he won with nearly 65% of the vote, after getting over 36,600 votes.

Malik said: "You cannot take your voters for granted , the way Sir Keir is doing. He has used extremely problematic language against British-Bangladeshis by saying that people coming from Bangladesh are not being removed. This is both insulting and divisive. He has singled out an entire community. I don’t think there is any place for this kind of language in our country."

She said: "I want to stand up for Pakistanis and other minorities in this country. We have a proud heritage and are also extremely proud to be British."

Malik said the fact that she was selected for this seat also shows that "the Conservative Party wants to engage with Muslims and Pakistanis. Whereas Labour has alienated them. I always think there is more work to be done around representation and diversity and I want to continue to work on integration and inclusive initiatives".

The lawyer-cum-politician also volunteers for various charities and has been a school governor.

She is also a trustee for a charity that works for female education in Pakistan. She said: "Women’s rights in Pakistan and elsewhere are very important to me. Education is the basis of everything."