A PROMINENT Sikh voice in British politics, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi – widely known as Tan Dhesi – has emerged as one of Westminster’s most recognisable figures on defence, diaspora affairs and community engagement.
The MP for Slough has risen from local government in Slough to become chair of the House of Commons defence select committee, one of Parliament’s most influential oversight roles. The position places him at the centre of scrutiny of UK defence policy, military readiness and strategic alliances at a time of growing global instability.
His election to the post was historic. Dhesi became the first Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic MP to lead the defence committee.
As chair, he has used the committee’s platform to interrogate Britain’s preparedness for an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape. In March, following a confidential briefing with senior Ministry of Defence officials on operations in Iran and the wider region, the cross-party committee said members were satisfied that the UK’s decision-making and preparedness measures were “grounded in a coherent logic”.
The committee also highlighted “longstanding and grave concerns” about the Royal Navy’s capacity during a period of worsening global security, calling on the government to release its Defence Investment Plan and increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP during the current Parliament.
Addressing the conflict in Ukraine earlier in the year, he underscored the committee’s scrutiny role as Europe faces continued insecurity more than years after Russia’s invasion.
His engagement with defence policy is rooted partly in family history. Dhesi has often pointed to his family’s links to the British armed forces, noting that his great-grandfather lost a leg fighting in the First World War and that his grandmother’s brother and other relatives served during the Second World War – a legacy he says reflects the Sikh community’s longstanding military tradition.
Beyond defence, he remains an outspoken advocate on issues affecting the British Punjabi and wider south Asian diaspora. He recently urged authorities in India’s Punjab state to address concerns raised by non-resident Indians, including justice mechanisms, connectivity and economic development.
Closer to home, his influence continues to be grounded in constituency politics. In Slough he has campaigned for the revival of the Western Rail Link to Heathrow project, arguing it would improve regional connectivity, boost business and ease road congestion.
First elected in 2017, Dhesi made history as the UK’s first turban-wearing Sikh MP. Raised in Slough by parents who migrated from Punjab in the 1970s and built careers in construction, he spent much of his own working life in the sector, including running a small construction company in Scotland, before entering public life as a councillor and later mayor in Slough.
He also pursued an extensive academic path – studying mathematics with management at University College London, earning an MSc in applied statistics at Oxford and completing an MPhil in South Asian history at Cambridge.
A polyglot who speaks several languages, he is fluent in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, French and English, with working knowledge of German, Italian and Latin.
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