Rehman Chishti was first elected as the Conservative MP for Gillingham and Rainham in 2010, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 15,119.
This area of Kent is traditional Conservative territory although it has backed Labour in its landslide years such as 1945, and in the period between 1997 and 2010. Gillingham is the largest town in Kent, and this is a relatively compact seat based around the two towns of Gillingham and Rainham. Some 63% of the electorate backed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
Chisti served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign Office between July and September 2022.
Campaigning on Islamophobia
In a House of Commons debate on Islamophobia in December 2023, Rehman Chishti suggested the prime minister is not “honouring his word” on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
He revealed to the commons that he spoke to the prime minister amid one of last year’s leadership contests about engaging with the Muslim community “in an inclusive manner across the board”.
Chishti continued: “He said to me, [that] he’s committed to that and we will work together”.
He added: “I’m waiting to see the prime minister to this day on that regard.
“In life, when I was a Foreign Office minister, when I was an envoy, I as a Member of Parliament, if I give you my word, I honour my word. If you cannot honour your word, don’t make it”.
He said later in the speech: “Why does the government not have an independent adviser on Islamophobia? Why has that role been left vacant for over one year?”.
Conservative MP suggests Rishi Sunak not ‘honouring his word’ on tackling Islamophobia
Career
He briefly put himself forward as a candidate for the Conservative leadership in July 2022 but failed to gain sufficient nominations to make it onto the ballot paper.
Born in 1978, Rehman Chishti grew up in Gillingham before completing a Law degree at the University of Wales Aberystwyth. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales at Lincolns Inn.
Rehman sat on Medway Council between 2003 and 2007, having at first been elected for the Labour Party. He previously stood for Parliament for Horsham in 2005 for the Labour Party.
Chisti joined the Conservative Party in 2006. A supporter of Brexit, he backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative leadership election.
In 2020, Rehman Chisti commissioned into the British Army as a Reservist.
He also currently works as the Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom policy at the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington. He was previously the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief between 2019 and 2020.
During his time at Westminster, Chisti has been particularly active trying to introduce Private Members Bills. He has in the past led campaigns against the use of laser pens, and the need for micro-chipping of all cats.
Rehman Chisti is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Kuwait; Missing Children and Adults;
He enjoys running and playing squash.
Email: rehman.chishti.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.rehmanchishti.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rehman_Chishti
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rehman-Chishti/
