Ex Telford council leader enters House of Lords

A councillor who helps out in his wife's cafe says he is not ready to abandon his apron completely after swapping it for the ermine of the House of Lords.

Kuldip Sahota took an oath to the King on Monday as he was introduced in the chamber as Baron Sahota of Telford.

A former leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, he described himself as "Telford through and through".

He said lovely messages were inevitably accompanied by a bit of stick.

The 71-year-old works at the family cafe in Wellington market and said some traders had enjoyed calling him "your lordship" as he wiped down tables.

He said his elevation to the House of Lords was delayed by the death of the Queen, but since news was released the phone "hasn't stopped".

"I hope they know what they're getting into, because I am a radical politician," he said.

Lord Sahota came to the UK from India at the age of 14 and went to Hadley School before spending 15 years working at the local GKN factory.

He said Telford, and the UK was very different when he was a teenager.

"It was a different time, you didn't have much expectation," he said.

"I'm from the minority community and there was a great deal of racism. There weren't many ethnic minority politicians around, and to go to the House of Lords? Get out of it!

"Society has changed over the last 50 years and I suppose I'm a product of that."

After leaving GKN he set up his own business, and has served on Telford and Wrekin Council for two decades.

He joined the Labour Party, but said his ambition initially went no further than becoming a councillor.

Since then he has served as council leader and sat on the board of the West Midlands branch of the Labour Party.

He also promised to continue to speak his mind in the House of Lords and hold the government to account.

"I like to say what I think is right and it gives me a national platform," he said.

Lord Sahota also plans to continue working at his wife's cafe, serving food, washing dishes and cleaning the tables.

"There's nothing wrong with an honest day's work," he said.

"I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I haven't got an estate."

Customers in the cafe have congratulated Mr Sahota and said it was "deserved" reward for his years of service.

One of them, market trader Ian Robotham, said: "He's a very good man, all these years in this country, he's done ever so well for the community.

"As someone who's not from this country to get stuck in so well, it's wonderful."

Lord Sahota's wife Sukhwinder Kaur Sahota - Lady Sahota - was in the public gallery on Monday along with their two sons.

He said navigating the peculiarities of the house was full of pitfalls, and admitted to being a bit "in awe of it".

However, he said details such as a coat of arms, costing more than £7,000, could wait.

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