Former Telford council leader attends King's Speech one year after taking oath in House of Lords
Telford's Lord Sahota has said he was 'bowled over' by the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday as he celebrated one year of Lordship.
Former Telford & Wrekin leader, Lord Sahota, attended his first State Opening of Parliament with his wife on Tuesday.
The grand affair not only saw Charles read his first King's Speech, but also marked one year to the day since Lord Sahota took his oath in the House of Lords.
Despite joking about tripping over his too-large robe, Lord Sahota said the pageantry of the day was "out of this world" with the event making him feel "proud to be British".
"You had to be there throughout the ceremony to really appreciate the colour, splendour and ceremonial tradition of centuries old," he said.
"Sitting there amongst the lords, bishops, judges and the King and Queen made me feel proud to be British."
On November 7 last year, Lord Sahota became the first turban-wearing Sikh ever appointed to the House by the Labour Party.
He said adjusting to his new position over the last 12 months had been a "big learning curve", with many traditions and protocols to pick up.
"I'm still learning," he added, "it indeed has been a long journey for the son of a foundry worker who came to the UK in 1957 unable to speak a word of English.
"I sometimes wish he was alive to see this. And I could say 'Dad, look what's happened to me - I'm in the House of Lords.'"
Lord Sahota and his father, alongside other members of his family, worked for many years at Hadley's GKN Sankeys.
The former council leader eventually left the engineering company to get into business before entering politics and eventually, the House of Lords.
But his former colleagues are still on hand to regularly remind him of his roots.
Lord Sahota said: "I'll be in my local pub one of my friends from Sankeys will say, "Hello my Lord, have you shot any pheasants lately?'"
