Candidates of Nigerian origin were part of those who contested for seats in the parliament at the recently concluded 2024 UK election.
The Labour party which won the majority seat in the parliament had the highest number of seats.
Out of the eight British Nigerians who won their party seats in various constituencies at the elections, six of them are women.
Here are photos of them and their profile.
1. Chi Onwurah
Chi Onwurah, a British-Nigerian politician, has been re-elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West under the Labour Party in the 2024 UK election. On July 4, Onwurah secured a notable 18,875 votes, contributing to the Labour Party’s significant victory that resulted in the unseating of the Conservative Party.
Born on April 12, 1965, in Wallsend, Chi Onwurah has a diverse heritage with a Nigerian father and a mother from Newcastle. Before her re-election, she served as the Shadow Minister for Science, Research, and Digital.
Onwurah boasts impressive academic credentials, holding a degree in electrical engineering from Imperial College London and an MBA from Manchester Business School. Prior to her political career, she was the Head of Telecoms Technology at Ofcom. In 2010, she made history by becoming Newcastle’s first black MP.
2. Taiwo Owatemi
Taiwo Owatemi successfully defended her seat in Coventry North West for the Labour Party, securing 19,669 votes and defeating her main rival, Tom Mercer of the Conservative Party, who received 8,522 votes.
Born on July 22, 1992, Owatemi grew up in Plumstead. After losing her father at the age of six, she was raised by her mother, a nurse, alongside her twin and older brother.
Owatemi holds a Master’s degree from the University of Kent and has been serving as a Member of Parliament since 2019. She previously held the position of Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities from September 2021 to September 2022. Before her political career, she worked as a pharmacist in the cancer unit at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust.
3. Kemi Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch, a British-Nigerian politician, was re-elected as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, winning her seat in North West Essex with 19,360 votes.
Born on January 2, 1980, in Wimbledon, London, to medical practitioner parents, she spent her early childhood in Lagos before returning to the UK at 16.
Badenoch holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Sussex and a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree. She also studied Law part-time at Birkbeck, University of London.
Before entering politics, Badenoch worked in the IT sector as a software engineer and systems analyst, and later pursued a career in consultancy and financial services.
She began her political journey at 25, joining the Conservative Party in 2005. Badenoch has been serving as the MP for Saffron Walden since 2017.
4. Kate Osamor
Kate Osamor secured re-election as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton with 20,520 votes.
Born on August 15, 1968, in North London, Kate faced challenges early on, especially after her father’s death, when her mother, Martha Osamor, had to work multiple jobs to support the family.
Kate pursued Third World Studies at the University of East London. After graduation, she worked with The Big Issue newspaper and later joined the NHS.
In 2014, Osamor was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. She also served as the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2018.
5. Florence Eshalomi
Florence Eshalomi won the seat for the newly established Vauxhall and Camberwell Green constituency with 21,528 votes. Before this, she represented Vauxhall in Parliament from 2019 until the constituency was dissolved in 2024.
Born on September 18, 1980, in Birmingham, Florence is the eldest of three daughters in a single-parent household. She earned a BA Hons in Political and International Studies with Law from Middlesex University, becoming the first in her family to graduate from university.
Eshalomi also served as a member of the London Assembly for Lambeth and Southwark from 2016
6. Helen Grant
Helen Grant secured her position as the Conservative representative for the Maidstone and Malling constituency with 14,146 votes. She has been serving in Parliament since her initial election in 2010.
Born in Willesden, Helen is the daughter of Nigerian father Dr. Julius Okuboye and English mother Dr. Gladys Speeding. Her mother, a nurse, became pregnant by her father, a surgeon at the same hospital, leading to a single-parent upbringing after their separation.
Helen’s political journey began in 2006 when she became a parliamentary candidate. She was selected as the prospective candidate for Maidstone and the Weald in January 2008 and won the seat as a Conservative MP in the 2010 elections, becoming the party’s first black woman MP.
