Nus Ghani is the Conservative MP for Sussex Weald, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election for the predecessor constituency of Wealden.

In the 2024 general election for Sussex Weald, Ghani received 16,758 votes, representing 34.1% of the vote share. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Danielle Newson, came second with 9,916 votes (20.2%), while the Reform UK candidate, David Morgan, secured 8,920 votes (18.1%). Ghani was duly elected with a majority of 6,842.

The Sussex Weald constituency is located in East Sussex.

Newly formed for the 2024 general election, the Sussex Weald seat draws approximately 70% of its area from the former Wealden constituency. It also took in the town of Heathfield and surrounding villages from the Bexhill and Battle constituency.

Ghani succeeded Charles Hendry as the Conservative MP for Wealden at the 2015 election. She was the first Muslim woman elected as a Conservative MP.

Political Career

Ghani currently serves as chairman of ways and means, the senior deputy speaker of the House of Commons. She was elected to the position in July 2024 alongside Judith Cummins (Labour) and Caroline Nokes (Conservative) as more junior deputy speakers. Their collective election represented the first time all three deputy speakers were women.

Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, responded: “This parliament is breaking more glass ceilings than ever before, with the biggest number of women MPs ever – and now an all-female team of deputies.

“All three MPs are incredible politicians who are well-respected by this House, and I am looking forward to working with them.”

Ghani is also the first ethnic minority MP to serve in the chair.

Ghani, as chairman of the ways and means committee, chairs the budget debate, supervises the arrangements for sittings in Westminster Hall and serves as chair of the panel of chairs.

Chairing the October 2024 budget debate, Ghani clashed with ministers after several measures were drip fed out in the days and weeks leading up to the official budget statement – an apparent breach of the ministerial code. “Over the past few days, ministers have made a series of new policy announcements with significant and wide-ranging implications for the government’s fiscal policy and for the public finances”, Ghani stated.

“It is evident to me that they should have been made in this House in the first instance.”

During the budget statement and subsequent debate, Ghani repeatedly ordered unruly MPs to “simmer down”.

Ghani is also a member of the House of Commons finance committee (since November 2024). The finance committee is an internal body of the House of Commons responsible for overseeing the financial management of the House itself. Unlike a select committee, it does not scrutinise government departments. Instead, its remit is purely administrative and focused on the House’s own budget and expenditure.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Ghani served as minister of state for Europe in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from (March – July 2024).

In March 2024, Ghani stated that zero tolerance on racism “is just a slogan in today’s politics” in what appeared to be a pointed swipe at the government’s handling of comments made by a Conservative donor. It came after Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, only belatedly condemned remarks reportedly delivered by businessman Frank Hester, who said Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women”.

Ghani posted to social media: “Zero tolerance on racism is just a slogan in today’s politics. [I am] reminded of Toni Morrison’s quote:

“‘The people who do this thing, who practice racism, are bereft. That is something distorted about the psyche. It’s a huge waste and it’s a corruption and a distortion’”.

Ghani previously served as minister of state for industry and economic security, jointly at the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office, from February 2023 to March 2024. Before this, she was minister of state at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from September 2022 to February 2023.

Ghani served as a lord commissioner of the Treasury (a government whip role) from July 2019 to February 2020, having previously been an assistant government whip from January 2018 to July 2019. From January 2018 to February 2020, Ghani was parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Transport. In this role, she became the first female Muslim minister to speak from the House of Commons despatch box.

At the time, Ghani stated: “A century after women got the vote for the first time, I hope that today young people can see that regardless of their background, faith, race, gender or sexuality, there will be a warm welcome on the green benches, and no matter where you are from you can achieve your dreams and ambitions.”

In January 2022, Ghani alleged that she was dismissed as a transport minister in 2020 because she was a Muslim. The Conservative MP claimed that she was told that her “Muslimness was raised as an issue” at a meeting in Downing Street and that her “Muslim woman minister status was making colleagues feel uncomfortable”.

Ghani said the incident had “shaken my faith in the party.”

Mark Spencer, the then Conservative chief whip, identified himself as the person who spoke to Ghani. He insisted that the allegations were untrue, describing them as “completely false and defamatory”.

In March 2021, Ghani was one of five MPs to be sanctioned by the Chinese government. The sanctions were said to be a direct retaliation for measures imposed by the UK, in coordination with the EU, US and Canada, on Chinese officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims in the country. Weeks later on 22 April, Ghani tabled a motion declaring that parliament recognised China was perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs.

The motion, which passed by acclamation (unanimously), stated: “That this House believes that Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are suffering Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide; and calls on the government to act to fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and all relevant instruments of international law to bring it to an end.”

Ghani served as the elected vice-chair of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs from 2021 to 2022.

As a backbencher, Ghani has sat as a member of the House of Commons home affairs committee (2015-2017), the foreign affairs committee (2017-2018) and the business and trade committee (2020-2022).

Ghani delivered her maiden speech on 9 June 2015 during a debate on the European Union Referendum Bill.

In it, she said: “Britain’s relationship with Europe matters deeply to my constituents, and I am pleased to say that they have a history of always supporting the policies of the government of the day on Europe.

“Back when the Weald was the centre of the iron-smelting industry, it produced the arrowheads that were used at Agincourt, and later made many of the cannon that were used to defeat Napoleon. During the second world war it was home to the Aspidistra project, transmitting black propaganda to Germany. Of course, we have no need of that now.”

She added: “I hope that the prospect of a referendum convinces our European friends that we are serious about reasserting our sovereignty, and I am proud that this government will give the people of this country the chance to decide on their future relationship with the EU.

“However, we must be careful not to turn the debate about our membership of an institution into a closed-minded attempt to pull up the drawbridge. This country is at its best when it is open to the world, embracing opportunities and welcoming people who want to contribute.”

Ghani first stood for parliament unsuccessfully in the Birmingham Ladywood constituency at the 2010 general election.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Ghani supported Liz Truss’ candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Truss, the then-foreign secretary, campaigned on a platform of sweeping tax cuts. After finishing second in the final parliamentary ballot with 113 votes, she won the subsequent vote of the party membership with 81,326 votes (57.4%) and was appointed prime minister on 6 September.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Ghani 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.

Tory leadership 2019: Ghani supported Jeremy Hunt, the then-foreign secretary, for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to the Conservative Party.

Hunt, campaigning as a “unity candidate”, secured 77 votes from MPs in the final parliamentary round and thereby reached the final head-to-head ballot against Boris Johnson. In the subsequent vote by the party membership, Hunt finished as runner-up with 46,656 votes (33.6%) compared to Johnson’s 92,153 (66.4%).

Tory leadership 2016: Ghani supported May for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

May, the then-home secretary, secured a commanding lead in the parliamentary stages, receiving 165 votes in the first ballot and 199 in the second. Following the withdrawal of her final rival, Andrea Leadsom, on 11 July, May was declared leader unopposed and was appointed prime minister two days later.

Factional identity and party tradition

Covid Recovery Group: Ghani was a member of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) steering committee. The CRG was a faction of Conservative MPs formed in November 2020 to scrutinise the government’s strategy for managing the Covid-19 pandemic. Chaired by the former chief whip Mark Harper, the group was highly critical of the use of national lockdowns. Its support was aligned with the libertarian and economically liberal wings of the Conservative Party.

Bright Blue: Ghani 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

Brexit referendum: Ghani supported Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 52.8% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Ghani voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Ghani voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Ghani voted in favour of a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a 10-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Ghani was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Civil liberties

Covid passes vote (2021): Ghani was one of 99 Conservative MPs to vote against Covid passes in England in December 2021.

Covid passes campaign (2021): Ghani was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Before Politics

Born Nusrat Munir Ul-Ghani on 1 September 1972 in Dadyal, Kashmir, Pakistan, Ghani was educated at Bordesley Green Girls’ School in Birmingham.

Ghani studied government and politics at Birmingham City University. She then completed a master’s degree in international relations at the University of Leeds.

In a 2018 PoliticsHome interview, Ghani stated: “Look, I never expected to be a member of parliament.

“I wasn’t raised in a home where politics was ever discussed. I wasn’t raised on the knees of politically active parents. I was expected to be married quite young and live in social housing. That was what was expected.”

Prior to entering parliament, Ghani was employed by the charities Age UK and Breakthrough Breast Cancer. She later worked for the BBC World Service.

Personal Life

Ghani married David Wheeldon in 2002. They have one child.

Trivia

Ghani was nominated for the 2021 Nato Parliamentary Assembly Women for Peace and Security Award, finishing as runner-up to Nancy Pelosi, the then speaker of the United States House of Representatives.