Seema Malhotra is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Feltham and Heston, having first been elected to parliament at a by-election on 15 December 2011.

In the 2024 general election, Malhotra received 16,139 votes, representing 41.5% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Reva Gudi, received 8,195 votes (21.1%), while the Reform UK candidate, Prabhdeep Singh, secured 5,130 votes (13.2%). Malhotra was duly re-elected with a majority of 7,944 votes.

The Feltham and Heston constituency is located in West London, covering the western half of the London Borough of Hounslow. It includes the areas of Feltham, Heston, Hanworth, Bedfont, Cranford and parts of Hounslow West. It borders Heathrow Airport, and also contains Feltham Young Offender Institution. The seat has been held by Labour since 1992. It is noted for its high ethnic diversity. The constituency boundaries were subject to minor changes for the 2024 election.

Malhotra succeeded Alan Keen as the MP for Feltham and Heston. Keen’s death triggered the 2011 by-election.

Political Career

Malhotra served as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from September 2025 to July 2026, and parliamentary under-secretary of state and minister for equalities in the Department for Education from October 2024 to July 2026.

Malhotra left government as part of the July 2026 reshuffle conducted by Andy Burnham upon his appointment as prime minister.

Malhotra was previously parliamentary under-secretary of state for migration and citizenship at the Home Office (July 2024 – September 2025).

In opposition, Malhotra served as shadow minister for skills (September 2023 – May 2024), shadow minister for business and consumers (May 2021 – September 2023) and shadow minister for employment (April 2020 – May 2021).

Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Malhotra was shadow chief secretary to the Treasury from September 2015 until June 2016. She was among those to resign from the shadow frontbench in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and his approach to the Brexit referendum.

In her resignation letter, Malhotra wrote: “The Labour Party is bigger than any of us individually. It is also now hugely divided and those divisions are growing. I believe particularly over the last few days since the EU referendum result that this has gone beyond the more obvious differences in policy positions.

“Our voice needs to strengthen in influence particularly at this time of political and economic upheaval and the difficult realities in the aftermath of the outcome of the referendum.

“I have come to the view that under your leadership we will not be able to build bridges across the party, be the strong official opposition that the country needs or reach out to voters and build confidence in Labour.

“I have served in your shadow cabinet with loyalty and respect for the mandate you received in the leadership election, but I believe that we need to recognise that we do not currently look like a government in waiting.”

Malhotra subsequently complained to the speaker of the House of Commons regarding unauthorised access to her parliamentary office, allegedly by aides to Corbyn and John McDonnell.

In a statement, Malhotra said: “I have discovered that members of staff working for John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn have gained unauthorised entry into my office in parliament.

“The implications of this are extremely serious. This is a breach of parliamentary privilege and is a violation of the privacy, security and confidentiality of a member of parliament’s office.

“Furthermore, my staff, including an intern, who have always been courteous and open, have felt harassed, intimidated and insecure and decided themselves it would be best to not leave anyone alone in the office.

“I have made a formal complaint to the speaker of the commons and to Jeremy Corbyn MP, and requested an investigation into how this could have happened.”

The speaker ultimately ruled that there was no breach of parliamentary rules.

John Bercow concluded: “Having taken advice, I am satisfied that there is nothing in your letter or in the information subsequently elicited by the deputy serjeant at arms which would justify regarding these events as a possible breach.”

Malhotra responded that her office had been “entered into without [her] knowledge and without [her] permission” and that a number of questions remained unanswered about “who precisely entered [her] office and why”.

Under Ed Miliband, Malhotra served as shadow minister for preventing violence against women and girls (August 2014 – September 2015) and was an opposition whip (October 2013 – March 2015).

Upon taking up the former post, Malhotra commented: “The level of violence against women in Britain, and indeed the world, is shocking, and too little is being done to prevent these crimes, support the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

She added: “It is significant that Labour has made this issue such a priority, and I look forward to working with colleagues to try and make a real difference to women who have experienced huge trauma in their lives.

“I will be looking to change this and look forward to working with Ed and Yvette [Cooper, the shadow home secretary] to make sure a Labour government offers a real alternative to women and children trapped in cycles of violence.”

Malhotra was a member of the committee on the future relationship with the European Union (2016-2021), the panel of chairs (2020) and the justice committee (2012-2013).

Malhotra delivered her maiden speech on 30 January 2012 during a debate on the Civil Aviation Bill.

In it, she said: “More than 140 languages are spoken in the borough of Hounslow, with a third of the population being from ethnic minorities. With our strong faith communities and inter-faith work, it is truly an example of where the global meets the local.

“Our multi-faith community has many active churches, temples, mosques and gurdwaras, but they are not just places of worship: the community work that volunteers lead on education, information and advice, and health and well-being, often in partnership with public agencies, is a major service to the whole community.”

She added: “Before moving to Bedfont, we lived above my parents’ shop in Osterley – a community shop that sold school uniforms along with imported crafts and jewellery from India. I attended Heston infants and junior school, where my mother was a teacher for nearly 20 years.

“The school has transformed now, being one of the 4,000 schools built or refurbished by Labour since 1997 – investment that is still making a difference to the education of young people across the country.”

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Malhotra was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. She was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Labour leadership 2020: Malhotra was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Labour leadership 2015: Malhotra nominated Yvette Cooper for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Cooper, the shadow home secretary, secured 59 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. She ultimately finished third in the contest with 17% of the vote.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Malhotra was labelled as “neutral but not hostile” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty.

Labour leadership 2016: Malhotra supported Angela Eagle for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The election was triggered by a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn following the EU referendum, which led to a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs.

Eagle, the former shadow first secretary of state, was the first to formally launch a challenge against Corbyn. However, she withdrew from the race on 19 July after attracting fewer nominations than Owen Smith. Malhotra went on to support Smith’s candidacy.

Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, was ultimately defeated by Corbyn, who won with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

Fabian Society: Malhotra’s political background is rooted in the Fabian Society, generally aligning her with the centre-left tradition within the Labour Party. She chaired the society from 2005 to 2006 and 2014 to 2016.

Malhotra is currently listed as vice president of the Fabian Society. The society is a British socialist organisation, founded in 1884, that purpose of which is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies. It is one of the oldest left-leaning think tanks and is affiliated with the Labour Party. Today, the society functions as a forum for political debate and policy development, publishing research, hosting events and influencing political discourse.

Tribune group (2017): Malhotra was listed among the supporters of the Tribune parliamentary group – a caucus generally described as representing the party’s “soft left”.

The Tribune group was initially formed in 1964 to support the newspaper of the same name. It served as a prominent forum for those parliamentarians situated on the left of the Labour Party – but it split over Tony Benn’s campaign for the deputy leadership in 1981. Benn’s supporters founded the Campaign group – which evolved into the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG). Today, the Bennite SCG is strongly associated with the Labour left tradition.

During the 1980s, the Tribune group emerged as a more natural home for those on Labour’s “soft left”.

In 2017, Efford officially re-launched the group with a new mission statement calling for “opportunity and aspiration” to be placed at the heart of the party’s programme. Efford said he had reformed the group to ensure that the centre-left of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) “have a space in which to put forward ideas and debate which has not been there under successive leaders”.

He added: “The view of Labour MPs at the moment tends to be that too much are just Blairites who want to stab Jeremy Corbyn in the back. We want to show that is not where we are, and that we want to develop our own ideas that represent the centre-left of the party.”

SERA: Malhotra has been listed as a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Malhotra supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of her constituents, 55.9% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Malhotra 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.

People’s vote support (2019): Malhotra signed a January 2019 statement by Labour MPs calling for a “people’s vote” or second referendum. The statement, signed by 71 Labour MPs, read: “Defeat of the Tory [Brexit] deal in a public vote would give us all a chance to campaign for the anti-austerity policies and a Labour government that deals with the true causes of the Brexit vote, and a reformed Europe that works for all people.”

Malhotra has been listed a member of the Labour Movement for Europe (LME) executive.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Malhotra voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Malhotra 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

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Malhotra voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Malhotra 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. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Malhotra voted against 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 ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Malhotra voted against the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Palestine

LFPME: Malhotra has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, Malhotra was one of 192 Labour MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Before Politics

Born in Hammersmith, London on 7 August 1972, Seema Malhotra grew up in Osterley, West London, where her parents ran a shop. She is of Indian Punjabi Hindu descent.

She attended schools in the London borough of Hounslow before studying politics and philosophy at the university of Warwick. She later obtained a postgraduate degree in business and information studies from Aston university.

Before entering politics full-time, Malhotra worked as a management consultant for Accenture and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, focusing on business strategy and IT systems development.

Malhotra is a former national chair of the Young Fabians and founded the Fabian Women’s Network in 2005, serving as its director.

She also worked as an adviser to Labour ministers Liam Byrne and Ian Austin before 2010.

Personal Life

Malhotra married Sushil Saluja, a management consultant.

She lives in Chelsea, London.

Trivia

Malhotra was a special adviser to Harriet Harman during her time as interim Labour leader in 2010.