The first female Sikh MP and the first turbaned Sikh MP have been elected to parliament.
Preet Kaur Gill won the Edgbaston seat as a Labour Party candidate, defeating ruling Conservative party’s Caroline Squire, according to reports.
Both Labour, Preet Kaur Gill, 44, will represent Birmingham Edgbaston and Tan Dhesi will represent Slough.
The results have been celebrated as ‘historic’ in an election where Labour did much better than many had expected.
It was heralded as ‘victory for Sikh representation in the UK parliament’.
Gill, a councillor from Sandwell, will be the first Sikh woman in the UK House of Commons.
Gill was born and brought up in Edgbaston, a seat that was held by her Labour colleague Gisela Stuart by a slim margin of 2,706 votes.
Gill was selected to replace Stuart by the Labour National Executive Committee’s (NEC) interview panel on April 28.
“I am delighted to have been chosen as Labour’s candidate for Birmingham Edgbaston.
Gill has served as a board member of the Sikh Network, which she believes has provided her with a unique platform and opportunity in the last two years to raise her political profile.
Gill is expected to focus on issues related to the Sikh community, the fourth largest faith group in the United Kingdom.
The Sikh Federation (the UK) was among her most prominent backers.
The United Kingdom went to polls on June 8 after Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly called snap elections seven weeks ago to increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron.
Early indications on Friday said the move may have backfired, with her Conservative party on track to lose its majority.