Slough MP Tan Dhesi reflects on General Election win

MP Tan Dhesi retained his Slough seat in a tense election night to become one of more than 400 Labour MPs in the party’s landslide victory.

He was not available for comment this week but spoke to the Express immediately after he learned the result.

Reacting to the win, of 33.76 per cent of the vote share, Mr Dhesi he was ‘immensely grateful’ to voters in Slough for choosing him to represent them in Parliament.

Mr Dhesi was the first turban-wearing Sikh MP when he was first elected in 2017 and is now joined by 10 Sikh MPs in the Houses of Parliament.

“It will now be my job to work very hard with a future Labour Government to deliver that change,” he added.

“To tackle the cost of living crisis; to tackle the housing crisis and the NHS crisis; and the many other things people are exasperated and angry about.

“We also need to re-instil their faith and confidence in our democratic process because so many people decided not to cast their ballots.”

Despite what has, at times, been a difficult campaign trail, Mr Dhesi prevailed with 14,666 votes.

This was, however, a drop compared to his 2019 win where he defeated his election rivals with a resounding victory of more than 29,000 votes.

He has been challenged on both his own and the national Labour Party’s record on voting for a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

And after being heckled while leafleting outside a mosque in Slough, shown in a video widely shared on social media, he released a message defending his position.

Independent candidate Azhar Chohan saw a swell of support for his campaign, which focused heavily on the conflict and received more than 10,000 votes.

Asked whether he thought there was a chance of losing his majority in Slough Mr Dhesi told the Express had had been ‘quietly confident’ of a favourable result.

But added: "I also came across many individuals who just felt they couldn't vote because they just thought nothing was changing and nothing would change.

“So that is why the Labour government and Sir Keir Starmer need to work to regain their trust and confidence because I think once we start resolving their issues and problems then they will feel they can trust a Labour government to deliver a decade of renewal.”

Now, after his winning seven-week snap election campaign, Mr Dhesi is set to represent Slough in Parliament for another term.

Discussing what was next for him, he said would be back to helping his Slough constituents.

He said: “The key thing now is to work hard on behalf of my Slough constituents in terms of casework.

“I have helped over 42,000 people in the last seven years and I will make sure that our hard-working team is there in Slough and in Westminster to work hard for them.

“But also as part of a future Labour government to ensure that we get structural things right so that we deliver on our economy; we deliver for our NHS; for our education; and many other things besides.”

On election night he also paid tribute to members of his campaign team, including Labour councillor Christine Hulme, for their help in delivering the victory.