Claire Coutinho News

Claire Coutinho, a close aide of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, got a big promotion as his new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary in a mini reshuffle on Thursday. Coutinho, 38, becomes the second Goan-origin minister after Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the Sunak Cabinet and has a tough brief ahead of her as energy costs have been soaring in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. She has committed herself to work on safeguarding energy security and reducing bills for families struggling with a cost-of-living crisis. In her first Cabinet role, Coutinho replaced Grant Shapps after he was promoted to the post of Defence Secretary following the resignation of Ben Wallace. «I am delighted to have been appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

record number of around 28 Indian-origin members of Parliament have been elected to the House of Commons in the UK's general election as results were announced on Friday, with several Conservatives surviving an overall brutal outcome for their party. Outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak leads the Tory charge of British Indians holding on to their seats, with a decisive win in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire. It would have come as small consolation for the Tory leader, who saw his party haemorrhage over 200 seats as the Labour Party's landslide victory unfolded. «On this difficult night, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of the Richmond and Northallerton constituency for your continued support. Since I moved here a decade ago, you have made me and my family feel so at home and I look forward to serving you for years to come,» said Sunak, in a message clearly aimed at dismissing pre-election chatter around his future plans as a politician. Other prominent British Indian Tories holding on to their seats included former home secretaries, Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, as did Sunak's Goan-origin Cabinet ally Claire Coutinho.

UK Parliament will welcome a record 29 MPs of Indian descent following the 2024 general election. Labour emerged as the leading party for People of Indian Origin (PIO) MPs, securing 19 seats, a notable increase from previous terms. Labour's Dominance and New Faces Labour celebrated a substantial victory with 12 new PIO MPs joining their ranks. Among the notable retainers are Lisa Nandy, Nadia Whittome, Navendu Mishra, Preet Gill, Valerie Vaz, and Seema Malhotra, who comfortably held onto their seats. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi retained Slough with a reduced majority, while Thangam Debbonaire lost Bristol Central to the Green Party, highlighting competitive contests within Labour strongholds.

Rishi Sunak gave his most senior ministers little more than an hour's notice of what he was about to tell the country and had already told King Charles III, that he had decided to call a snap UK general election for July 4. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt was among those caught unaware. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who'd had to cancel a visit to Albania just to make the meeting in Downing Street, expressed surprise, but said the decision «seizes the initiative, sets the agenda and forces the choice,» according to people familiar with the conversation.

Claire Coutinho became the youngest minister in the UK government when she joined it as the new secretary for energy security and net zero, replacing Grant Shapps. It is a huge opportunity for the young woman who was elected from East Surrey in December 2019. With this decision of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Coutinho has become a major figure in Conservative politics at a much younger age and with less experience. She is the only MP to be made minister from the lot that was elected to the Parliament in 2019.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Conservative MP and former energy secretary Grant Shapps as new defence secretary on Thursday following the resignation of Ben Wallace his position earlier today. Wallace was the longest-serving Tory defence secretary since Winston Churchill. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office announced Shapps's appointment, around an hour after he was seen entering 10 Downing Street, reported AFP.