University of Wolverhampton Business SchoolHonorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration
Born in Amritsar in 1959, Sandip Verma came to Britain a few weeks before her first birthday. Educated in Leicester City, in 1977 she married Ashok Verma. Wishing to continue with her education Sandip embarked on higher education courses in psychology and then a business degree, successfully operating a high fashion hosiery business before setting up in the service sector with a care business.
Politics was always Sandip’s passion, at age 11 she had written in an essay she wanted to be Prime Minister of India. Instead, she set her sights on British politics. Following a long career in voluntary work amongst grass root issues – fighting violence against women, setting up local groups for young people etc- Sandip entered mainstream politics at the age of 40, about to take on her biggest challenge.
She joined the Conservative Party in 1999, knowing she had to not only fight the battles outside the party but help change the party internally to reflect the Britain she knew. Sandip was made a peer in the House of Lords in 2006. The first woman of South Asian origin to sit on the front benches in either Houses of Parliament, she is now responsible for the departmental briefs of International Development, Equalities and Women in the Lords Government Whips office and Whip in the Cabinet office. This makes her a Baroness in Waiting and as such, a member of the Queen’s Household.
Sandip has always believed that you can make a difference and empower people to help themselves. She has relied on the unconditional support of her husband Ashok throughout all the challenges she has faced.
