Rami Ranger’s seventieth birthday party was a politically star-studded affair. Among the guests filing into the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in July 2017 were cabinet heavyweights Sajid Javid and David Gauke. On stage, business minister Richard Harrington read a letter from Prime Minister Theresa May praising Ranger, a leading Conservative Party donor.
The next speaker, crossbench peer Lord Paul, responded: “The only thing which I can't understand, with all Rami has done, for Britain, for India, and for the world, [is] why we are waiting so long to have him as a colleague with us in the House of Lords. Maybe the minister can take that message, that instead of a letter, we need the peerage for Rami!”
Another crossbench peer – and former Tory donor – Lord Bilimoria enthused: “You have reached the age of 70… 70 also happens to be the average age of a member of the House of Lords. The stars are aligned, Rami Ranger, Lord Ranger, we await, your seat awaits you!”
