Peerages: Ed Davey responds to appointment of Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed MBE and Dr Mark Pack

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Peerages: Ed Davey responds to appointment of Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed MBE and Dr Mark Pack

Two Liberal Democrat appointments to the House of Lords have been announced today - Shaffaq Mohammed, a former youth worker and leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Sheffield Council since 2011 and Mark Pack, who has been President of the party since 2020.  

Responding to the announcement, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

 “Shaffaq and Mark are both a credit to the Liberal Democrats and I am delighted that they will both be bringing their experience to our group in the House of Lords. 

“Shaffaq has been an incredible public servant for over two decades through his work in Sheffield and will bring huge expertise on local government and communities. Mark Pack has dedicated himself to making politics more open and transparent, and will bring deep knowledge of electoral law and constitutional matters. 

“I am delighted to welcome them both to Parliament, where Liberal Democrats across both Houses are working tirelessly to deliver the effective opposition the British people need.”

Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed MBE said:

“It is a huge honour to be appointed to the House of Lords after nearly 30 years of serving my local community as a youth worker, local councillor and leader of the Liberal Democrats on Sheffield Council. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues in Parliament to advocate for young people, carers, human rights, and to hold the government to account.”

Dr Mark Pack said:

“It is a privilege to be appointed to the House of Lords, joining a talented team of Parliamentarians who are fighting for liberal values. I hope to use this new role to continue my work in making politics more accessible and understandable to the public and to fight for meaningful political reform.”

 ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed MBE

Shaffaq Mohammed has dedicated his life to youth work, public service and local government.

Born in Kashmir, he moved to Sheffield at the age of four. He has been a youth worker for many decades, and was first elected to serve on Sheffield City Council in 2004. He became leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council in 2011 – a role he still holds today.

In 2005, Cllr Mohammed helped raise money to help those affected by the Kashmir earthquake that claimed more than 85,000 lives. He was awarded an MBE for his political service in 2015, and in 2019 he was elected to represent Yorkshire and the Humber in the European Parliament.

In 2021-22, he chaired a Carers Commission, established by Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey, which took evidence from experts, campaigners and carers themselves to develop new policies to support paid and unpaid carers.

Dr Mark Pack

Dr Pack is an experienced and respected campaigner, communications professional and constitutional expert.

He has served as President of the Liberal Democrats since 2020, including a period as joint acting leader of the party in 2020. Under his presidency, the party secured its best ever general election result, becoming the largest third party in a century.

Dr Pack is a respected authority on political campaigning, communications and marketing, having worked in both the public and private sectors as well as authoring and editing books and academic journal articles on these topics.

He also has a great deal of expertise in constitutional affairs and electoral law, and served as a member of the Electoral Commission’s Political Parties Panel.

Dr Pack has dedicated himself to making politics more open and transparent to the public, with his seminal polling database and a number of pioneering websites and newsletters.