“You could take the lad out of Tinsley, but you can't take Tinsley out of the lad”: What life is like as a Sheffield Lord
“Where are the sons and daughters of hospital cleaners and car mechanics? If you want to truly represent, then we've got to also have them”
Shaffaq Mohammed, a “working class lad from Sheffield,” reflected on a year and a half spent in Westminster as a Lord.
Lord Mohammed was born in Kashmir and arrived in the UK at four years old in 1977 to his new home in Tinsley.
He became a Sheffield councillor in 2004, then the leader of the Liberal Democrats group in 2011.
He was nominated for a life peerage in December 2024, joining as The Lord Mohammed of Tinsley MBE in February last year.
He shared a story of his first week in the Lords, where he felt emotional listening to Nicolas Soames - grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill - speaking at a private members bill debate.
“We all know who Nicholas Soames' grandad was,” Lord Mohammed said. “It was Winston Churchill.
“32 years ago, I know what his grandad was doing, and I know what my grandad was doing. He was up in the mountains of Kashmir with his camels. But today, his vote and mine count the same.
“Forget my grandad, even my dad in his wildest dreams would have never thought that. Sheffield City Council would have been a dream for them, let alone the House of Lords."
Lord Mohammed said his dad, who worked in the steel industry, passed away in 1995 and never saw him become a politician.
“When I first joined Sheffield Council, my dad's generation, some of his old friends, once came to see me.
“They would walk past the steps of the Sheffield Town Hall. But in their minds, it wasn't a place for people like them. They weren't important.
“Now, not only are we able to walk into places that affect our lives, but also we've got people that we can strongly relate to.”
Hereditary peers were abolished in the House of Lords in March this year, but Lord Mohammed said he would also vote to abolish life peers.
“That chamber has to change,” he said, adding it needs “all the voices” to bring different experience, ideas and perspectives.
“Some certain professions are always going to be represented here. Where are the sons and daughters of hospital cleaners and car mechanics? Because if you want to truly represent the city, then we've got to also have them.”
Lord Mohammed is now 54 years old, but said: “I do get called sometimes, ‘young man’, which is interesting, 'cause the average age is 70 plus.
“We're supposed to be peers. So you do chuckle,” he laughed.
He added: “In order to represent the whole city, we've got to look and sound like them.
“That's a challenge for the House of Lords, because it absolutely doesn't represent society as a whole. You can see it from some of the positions it takes. You think, God, they don't have a clue how the average person lives.
“You see it when the convertible Rolls Royce pulls in. They asked me what my car is. It's an 2011 clapped out old Skoda.”
Lord Mohammed said he has registered his car to bring down one day “just to prove a point".
“I just always proudly tell people, I'm proud of my working class background. You can give me whatever title you want. As we say, you could take the lad out of Tinsley, but you can't take the Tinsley out of the lad.”