London, England, UK: Four people of Indian heritage have been granted life peerages in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords, the Prime Minister’s office announced on December 10.
The appointments, recommended by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and formally sanctioned by King Charles III, include Uday Nagaraju, Geeta Nargund, Neena Gill, and Shama Tatler.
These selections highlight Labour’s commitment to enhancing diversity and bringing specialist expertise to the unelected upper chamber, which reviews legislation passed by the House of Commons.
Uday Nagaraju, a computer engineer, is the founder of AI Policy Labs, an organisation focused on leveraging artificial intelligence to address challenges in governance, agriculture, and gender equality.
He previously ran for the Chiswick Gunnersbury council seat in 2022 and contested the North Bedfordshire parliamentary seat in the general election, finishing in second place and boosting his national recognition. Born in Shanigaram village in the former Karimnagar district of Telangana, he is the first peer originating from this Indian state.
London-based fertility expert Geeta Nargund has devoted her career to improving reproductive healthcare and promoting health equity. Born to Indian parents, she trained in gynaecology in the UK and established Create Fertility in 2004, introducing natural and mild IVF approaches.
With over 100 publications to her name, she has influenced global fertility standards and created the Health Equality Foundation to reduce disparities in women’s health among ethnic minorities and low-income communities. Nargund has advised the World Health Organisation and champions ethical applications of AI in medicine.
Neena Gill, originally from Punjab and brought up in the UK from the age of 10, becomes Labour’s first female Sikh peer in the House of Lords. At 29, she was the youngest and first non-white female chief executive of a major housing association.
She served as a Labour Member of the European Parliament representing the West Midlands from 1999 to 2009 and again from 2014 to 2020, chairing the EU-Japan delegation and vice-chairing the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. A recipient of the CBE (2017) and India’s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, she contested Bromsgrove in 2024. Gill is also a trustee of Lumos and a vocal advocate for child welfare and diversity.
Councillor Shama Tatler has been a prominent figure in London local politics since 2014. Representing Brent’s Fryent Ward, she rose to cabinet member for regeneration, property, and planning, overseeing projects such as the award-winning South Kilburn estate redevelopment and Wembley Park development.
Tatler serves as vice-chair of the London Labour Regional Executive, patron of the Labour Housing Group, and head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association. She is also involved with the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Indians and contested the Chingford and Woodford Green parliamentary seat in 2024.
Once sworn in, all four appointees will receive honorary titles, allowing them to sit in and vote in the House of Lords, the UK’s upper legislative chamber, in recognition of their service and contributions.
