London, Nov 13 (IANS) British Premier Gordon Brown Thursday praised Virendra Sharma, fellow-Labour MP for the Indian-dominated area of Southall, saying Sharma epitomised the best in immigrant contributions to Britain.
“Virendra’s own story - first coming here to better himself on a scholarship and today representing the people of Ealing-Southall as their MP - epitomises the contribution that one person can make to our country and the benefits of welcoming talented people to our shores who pull their weight, join in with British society and contribute to our economy,” Brown said.

Sharma, who was born in Punjab, came to Britain in 1968 and took his first job as a bus conductor. In July 2007, he delivered Labour Party its first by-election victory under Brown’s leadership by winning the Ealing-Southall seat by more than 5,000 votes.

Sharma told IANS Friday: “The people in the audience responded very positively to the prime minister’s comments on immigration. It was not an election speech - it showed that Gordon Brown takes immigration very seriously.”

Brown, who became prime minister in June 2007, was delivering his first major speech on immigration - an issue that is set to dominate the political debate in the runup to general elections due by early June 2010.