Saqib Bhatti (full name Mohammad Saqib Bhatti) is the Member of Parliament for the Meriden and Solihull East Constituency. Prior to his political career he was a chartered accountant and President of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
Early Life
Saqib was born in 1985, in Walsall, West Midlands where he grew up and attended school. His father is a chartered accountant and runs his own firm of chartered accountants. Both of his parents are of Pakistani origin.
He attended King Edwards VI School for boys before reading Law at the London School of Economics where he graduated with LLB (Hons). Bhatti also holds an honorary doctorate from Aston University in Business Administration and was awarded MBE in 2020 for Services to Diversity and Inclusion in Business Communities.
Early Career
Until his election on 12 December 2019, was the youngest ever President of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce since its inception in 1813 and acted as a voice for over 3,000 businesses in the West Midlands.
The Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s geography extended across the West Midlands and with 3000 members is one of the largest and fastest-growing Chambers of Commerce in the country. During his tenure he championed the role that business played in society and the fact it is a force for good. He often spoke about the role business will play in beating the challenges faced by society including climate change, knife crime and helping greater integration in society.
He remained as president until his election on December 13th 2019.
After graduating from university, Saqib joined international accountancy firm Deloitte in 2007 and trained as a chartered accountant and financial auditor. He specialised in financial service sector audits and trained as a financial instruments specialist. In 2010 he joined the family firm of Chartered accountants, Younis Bhatti & Co which caters for small and medium sized businesses where he was appointed a director in 2012.
In 2013 Bhatti joined the board of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (then IAB) and was President from 2014 until 2018. He then served as its Honorary Chairman from 2018 to 2020.
He was also Director of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership responsible for business support. In October 2015 he launched the Growth Hub, the premier access point for business support, on behalf of the GBS LEP. The Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area has enjoyed the largest amount of start-ups outside of London since 2014.
In 2016 he was recognised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as a Rising Star.
Political Career
Saqib was on the National Board for Vote Leave and campaigned to give ethnic minorities a voice on the Leave side of the debate; during which time he also launched ‘Muslims for Britain’ and he is credited with delivering the Leave vote in Birmingham. He was also Deputy Chair for the Andy Street 2020 Mayoral Campaign.
Saqib is a board member of the West Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association. In 2019 he received an honorary doctorate from Aston University in Business Administration and has been a guest lecturer at Birmingham City University, Warwick University and University College Birmingham.
Personal Life
Charity work is a fundamental part of Saqib’s life: in July 2019 he raised £27,000 for Prostate Cancer UK and has supported charities around the world in providing education and training for women. He also sits on the board for West Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association. He also been involved with a number of international charitable projects from a young age. Saqib has also formerly served as a trustee of The Lord Mayor’s Charity in Birmingham and on the board of the Lunar Society.
Saqib often says, “The biggest influence on me is my father who moved to the UK in the 60s in pursuit of the ‘Great British Dream’, he taught me the values of hard work, integrity and determination which have driven my life so far.”
Saqib lives in Dorridge with his wife.
