Imran Hussain (born 7 June 1978) is a British Labour Party politician and a barrister. He became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bradford East after gaining the seat from the Liberal Democrats at the 2015 general election.[1]
Imran Hussain | |||||||||||||
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.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Bradford East | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David Ward | ||||||||||||
| Majority | 18,144 (41.1%) | ||||||||||||
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| Member of Bradford City Council for Toller | |||||||||||||
| In office 2 May 2002 – 3 May 2018 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Q. Khan | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Kamran Hussain | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | 7 June 1978 Bradford, West Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Huddersfield | ||||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||||
He was re-elected to Parliament in 2017 and 2019.[2] He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
Early life edit
Hussain was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He attended local state-funded schools and as a teenager worked in Morrisons supermarket, sweeping floors and stacking shelves.[3]
Political career edit
Councillor edit
Hussain was a Labour councillor in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council having first been elected in 2002.[4] In 2003, Hussain brought forward a motion to Bradford Council opposing the Coalition Invasion of Iraq.[5]
In 2008, he was elected as Deputy Leader of the council's Labour Group.[6] In 2010, when Labour took control of the council, he became Deputy Leader of Bradford Council and remained in that position for five years until the 2015 general election when he was elected to the House of Commons.[7]
Following his election to Westminster, Hussain rejected his council allowance, which he was entitled to, stating it was a "principled decision" as it would be wrong "to get two salaries" from public office.[8]
Bradford West by-election edit
In 2012, Hussain was selected by Labour to contest Bradford West in the by-election caused by the resignation of the Labour incumbent, Marsha Singh, due to "serious illness".[9] The election was unexpectedly won by George Galloway of the Respect Party with a large majority.[10]
Member of Parliament edit
In 2014, Bradford East Constituency Labour Party opened its parliamentary selection process. In the final selection meeting held on 1 November 2014, Hussain was chosen over three other candidates, including the President of the Trades Union Congress to become Labour's candidate for the seat.[11] During his 2015 general election campaign for Bradford East, Hussain rejected a £1,000 donation from Tony Blair citing his own opposition to the Iraq War as the reason.[12]
He was subsequently elected to Parliament in 2015 by gaining the seat from David Ward of the Liberal Democrats with a 13.8% swing to Labour and a majority of 7,084.[13] On 15 May 2015, Hussain was one of 10 newly elected Labour MPs who signed an open letter calling for a Leader of the Labour Party who will not "draw back to the ‘New Labour’ creed of the past" and will oppose austerity.[14]
On 20 July 2015, Hussain was one of 48 Labour MPs who voted against the Welfare Bill and therefore rebelled against the Labour Party's position of abstaining on the vote. He described the bill as "cruel and unfair" and said it would be "attacking hard working families, the poorest and children".[15]
Hussain was one of 36 Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.[16] He fully supported Corbyn's leadership campaign.[17] On 14 January 2016, Hussain was appointed Shadow Minister of State for International Development by Jeremy Corbyn.[18] On 3 July 2017, he was appointed Shadow Minister of State for Justice.[19] Hussain nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2020 and nominated Richard Burgon for the deputy leadership.[20][21] On 9 April 2020 he was appointed by Keir Starmer as Shadow Minister of State for Employment Rights. In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Minister for the New Deal for Working People.[22]
On 8 November 2023, Hussain resigned as Shadow Minister because of Starmer's refusal to call for a ceasefire in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Hussain said he wanted to be a "strong advocate for the humanitarian ceasefire" but could not do that as a frontbencher "given its current position".[23]
References edit
- ^ "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ "Bradford East parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Maiden Speech (Imran Hussain)". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Bradford Council Election Results". Keighley News. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "BRADFORD'S NEW MPs: Bradford East's Imran Hussain is supporting calls for leader on the left". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ^ "Labour leader fights off challenge". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
- ^ "Val Slater is revealed as new deputy leader of Bradford Council". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ "New Bradford MP rejects his Council allowance because it would be wrong to 'get two salaries'". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Bradford West MP Marsha Singh to stand down". BBC News. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ^ "Bookies lose out in Galloway rout". The Independent. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ^ "Latest batch of Labour candidates selected for 2015". LabourList. 5 November 2014. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "£1k Blair donation 'not right' for Imran". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Newly-elected Labour MPs call for a leader who won't "draw back to New Labour"". LabourList. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "Welfare bill: Who are the 48 rebel Labour MPs who voted against it?". The Independent. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?". New Statesman. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
- ^ Wright, Steve (13 September 2015). "District's new Labour MPs declare support for Jeremy Corbyn". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Bradford MP appointed to Labour shadow cabinet". ITV News. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Reshuffle: Twenty MPs Appointed To Labour's Frontbench". LabourList. 3 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ "Labour Party Leader". The Labour Party.
- ^ "Labour Party Deputy Leader Nominations". The Labour Party.
- ^ "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "Imran Hussain resigns as shadow minister over Starmer's position on Israel-Hamas ceasefire". Sky News. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.