Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine (Template:Née Khan; born 9 March 1955) is a British politician and life peer who is a non-aligned member of the House of Lords. She was the Chairman of the EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee in the House of Lords from 2015 to 2019.

In December 2020, she became chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Her appointment led to criticism both from her predecessor and staff members who said EHRC had become politicised and transphobic during her tenure. Other people have said that she is reversing the "politicising" of her predecessor.

Early life and education

Kishwer Falkner was born in Pakistan to a Muslim family who had left India at Partition. She was educated at St Joseph's Convent School, Karachi, an all-girls private Catholic school in Karachi. After living and working in the Middle East, Italy, France and Germany, she moved to the UK in the late 1970s. She studied international relations at the London School of Economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1992. She also has a Master of Arts (MA) degree in international relations and European studies from the University of Kent.

Career

Falkner worked for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons and party headquarters including as Director of International Affairs and Director of Policy. She also worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat and as Chief Executive of Student Partnerships Worldwide. In February 2008 she was appointed as the inaugural chancellor of The University of Northampton.

In 2018 she was appointed a member of the Bank of England's Enforcement Decision Making Committee. As of 2019 she was also an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.

Political career

She joined the Liberal Democrats in the mid-1980s and worked for the party in several posts till 1999. Falkner contested Kensington and Chelsea in the 2001 General Election and was on the Liberal Democrats list for London in the 2004 European elections.

Falkner was the Liberal Democrats' Director of International and European Affairs for several years, co-authoring much of the Party's policy on the European Union, and coordinating a joint response for European Liberals on issues related to Europe's structures and place in the world. Falkner also worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat, where she continued to work on the broader issues of globalisation, democracy and development. In 2003–04, Falkner was chief executive of a charity working with young people in some of the poorest parts of Africa and Asia.

On 2 June 2004, Falkner was ennobled as a life peer. From 2 June 2004 to 24 July 2019, she sat in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat peer. Then, from July 2019 to September 2020, she sat as a non-affiliated peer. Since 3 September 2020, she has sat as a crossbencher.

EHRC head

On 1 December 2020, she became chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). In November 2024, Bridget Phillipson, the equalities minister, announced that Falkner’s four-year term would be extended for a further 12 months, with a new chair being sought to take office after Falkner's extended term ends.

Falkner and the EHRC under her leadership have come under criticism from trans and other LGBTIQ+ organisations following comments she made in May 2021 to The Times, in which she said that women had the right to question transgender identity without fear of abuse, stigmatisation or loss of employment. Her predecessor as EHRC chair, David Isaac, said the commission was politicised by the Conservative Party during her tenure. Several former and current staff members of EHRC described the public body as "transphobic," "anti-LGBT+" and an "enemy of human rights" during Falkner's tenure, and media reported that several staff members had resigned in protest of EHRC's "descent into transphobia". However, others defended Falkner including Janice Turner in The Times who said: "Falkner is accused of politicising the EHRC, yet in fact she is merely depoliticising her predecessor’s regime. Her first act was to withdraw the EHRC from the Stonewall Champions scheme, which had meant that under her predecessor David Isaac (ex-chairman of Stonewall) a government body whose core mission is to balance all human rights was following rules set by one lobby group alone."

In May 2023, a lawyer was appointed to investigate complaints against Falkner. The complaints were made by current and former staff at the EHRC. The nature of the complaints has not been disclosed. In May 2023, the investigation was suspended "following a backlash from 54 peers and outcry across the political spectrum". The investigation restarted in July 2023 but was closed in October 2023, following an independent review of the Commission's handling of complaints, initiated by the Minister for Women and Equalities, with Falkner remaining in her position as Chair.

Electoral history

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

General election 2001: Kensington and Chelsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Simon Stanley	6,499	23.2
		Kishwer Falkner	4,416	15.8
		Julia Stephenson	1,158	4.1
		Damian Hockney	416	1.5
		Josephine Quintavalle	179	0.6
Majority			8,771	31.3
Turnout			28,038	43.3
	hold		Swing	+2.8