Gagan Mohindra is the Conservative MP for South West Hertfordshire, having held the seat continually since the 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Mohindra won with 16,458 votes, representing 34.1% of the total vote share. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Sally Symington, placed second place with 12,002 votes (24.9%), while the Labour Party candidate, Alex Sufit, secured 9,637 votes (20.0%). Mohindra was re-elected with a majority of 4,456.

The South West Hertfordshire constituency, located in Hertfordshire in the East of England, has been held by the Conservative party since 1950. In the 2019 general election, Mohindra won the seat after the long-serving incumbent MP (since 2005) and former Conservative cabinet minister, David Gauke, contested the election as an independent candidate.

Political Career

Mohindra currently serves as opposition deputy chief whip on the Conservative frontbench appointed by Kemi Badenoch (since November 2024). Since September 2026, they have served as opposition deputy chief whip alongside Paul Holmes.

Mohindra is a member of the House of Commons housing, communities and local government select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the policy, spending, and administration of the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government and its associated public bodies.

Mohindra previously served as a shadow education minister from July to November 2024 on the interim/caretaker frontbench constructed by Rishi Sunak after the general election of that year.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Mohindra served as an assistant government whip (2023-2024).

Mohindra was appointed as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Home Office in September 2021 under Priti Patel as home secretary. He was PPS in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from September 2022 to September 2023.

In June 2022, Mohindra publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a Conservative “no-confidence” in his leadership. The vote was triggered by discontent within the parliamentary party following the “partygate” scandal and the publication of the Sue Gray report. While the prime minister ultimately won the vote, the scale of the rebellion against him, with 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him, severely weakened his authority and presaged his resignation the following month.

In a social media post at the time, Mohindra stated: “For the sake of clarity, I will be supporting Boris in tonight’s vote. He has my full support.”

Mohindra has sat as a member of the public accounts committee (2020).

Mohindra delivered his maiden speech on 17 March 2020 during a debate on the budget.

In it, he said: “In the interests of my constituents and the rest of the country, I proudly stand with my government, who are dedicated to levelling up.

“This is not only about the north; it is about enabling everyone who is not born with advantage to have access to excellent education, public services and visible role models, so that their aspirations and ambitions are not stunted by circumstance.

“As we know in our hearts, talent does not discriminate and I, like many in my government, am committed to ensuring that opportunity does not, either.”

He added: “I stand here, proud to be a British Asian and to inhabit the most diverse parliament we have ever had. But diversity encompasses all manner of considerations, not just diversity of ethnicity or of gender, although I welcome both and am delighted that 34% of this place is now occupied by women – I look forward to that number being higher.

“When we speak of diversity and inclusiveness, we must mean engaging the widest diversity of perspective, formed by bringing together individuals with all manner of differences, including those of upbringing and background.

“It is about destigmatising all forms of physical and mental health issues, and that starts with us in this House. I am dyslexic, so I understand the frustrations posed by learning difficulties, but I must acknowledge that I have also had the benefit of many advantages.”

Before entering parliament, Mohindra was elected as a district councillor on Epping Forest District Council in May 2006. He was elected as a county councillor on Essex County Council in 2017. He stood down as a councillor in 2021.

Mohindra stood for parliament at the 2010 general election as the Conservative candidate for the North Tyneside constituency.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Tory leadership 2024: Mohindra supported James Cleverly’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

During the contest, Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, urged the party to “be more normal”. On 9 October, in a major upset, Cleverly was eliminated in the fourth ballot after his support dropped to 37 votes. The result was widely attributed to a failure of tactical voting by supporters who assumed his place in the final two was secure.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Mohindra supported Rishi Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Sunak, the former chancellor, had finished second to Truss in the previous contest. Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Sunak, having emerged as the clear frontrunner, was declared leader of the Conservative Party unopposed on 24 October.

Factional identity and party tradition

The Free Market Forum: Mohindra has been listed as a supporter of the Free Market Forum (FMF) of Conservative MPs and peers. The group, co-chaired by Dehenna Davison and Greg Smith in the 2019-2024 parliament, set out to “encourage free market thinking, winning over the unpersuaded and providing intellectual firepower and a public platform to proponents of classical liberalism.” Founded in 2021, the forum, associated with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), was seen as aligned with the economic policies of the Liz Truss government.

Bright Blue: Mohindra has been listed as a parliamentary supporter of Bright Blue, an independent centre-right think tank and membership organisation that champions liberal conservatism in the UK. Since its founding in 2014, the organisation has expanded its reach through a new cross-party strategy.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Mohindra voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Mohindra voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Mohindra voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Mohindra was born on 7 April 1978 in Barking and was raised in East London, where his family lived above a clothes shop in Forest Gate.

Mohindra studied mathematics at King’s College London, graduating in 1999.

Mohindra worked in financial service and then in his family’s furniture business before entering frontline politics.

Personal Life

Mohindra is married.

Mohindra comes from a Punjabi Hindu background. His parents emigrated to the United Kingdom from the Punjab region of India before he was born. His paternal grandfather served in the British Indian Army.

Mohindra is dyslexic.

Trivia

Mohindra enjoys football and cricket.