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Imran Hussain (British politician)

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Imran Hussain
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Bradford East
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byDavid Ward
Majority18,144 (41.1%)
2023–2023New Deal for Working People
2020–2023Work
2017–2020Justice
2016–2017International Development
Member of Bradford City Council
for Toller
In office
2 May 2002 – 3 May 2018
Preceded byQasim Khan
Succeeded byKamran Hussain
Personal details
Born (1978-06-07) 7 June 1978 (age 46)
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Labour Party (2002–2024; suspended and whip withdrawn)
Socialist Campaign Group
Alma materUniversity of Huddersfield
WebsiteOfficial website

Imran Hussain (born 7 June 1978) is a British independent, previously Labour politician, and barrister who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford East since 2015.[1]

Early life and career

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Imran Hussain was born on 7 June 1978 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He attended local state schools and as a teenager worked in Morrisons, sweeping floors and stacking shelves.[2]

Political career

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Hussain was a Labour councillor in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council having first been elected in 2002.[3] In 2003, Hussain brought forward a motion to Bradford Council opposing the Coalition Invasion of Iraq.[4]

In 2008, he was elected as Deputy Leader of the council's Labour Group.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

Parliamentary career

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In March 2012, Hussain was selected by Labour to contest the Bradford West by-election caused by the resignation of the Labour incumbent, Marsha Singh, due to "serious illness".[8] At the election, Hussain came second with 25% of the vote behind the Respect candidate George Galloway.[9][10]

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 general election campaign, Hussain rejected a £1,000 donation from Tony Blair citing his own opposition to the Iraq War as the reason.[12]

At the 2015 general election, Hussain was elected to Parliament as MP for Bradford East with 46.6% of the vote and a majority of 7,084.[13][14] 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.[15]

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".[16]

Hussain was one of 36 Labour MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.[17] He fully supported Corbyn's leadership campaign.[18] On 14 January 2016, Hussain was appointed Shadow Minister of State for International Development by Jeremy Corbyn.[19]

At the snap 2017 general election, Hussain was re-elected as MP for Bradford East with an increased vote share of 65.4% and an increased majority of 20,540.[20][21][22]

On 3 July 2017, he was appointed Shadow Minister of State for Justice.[23]

Hussain was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 63% and a decreased majority of 18,144.[24]

Hussain nominated Rebecca Long-Bailey as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2020 and nominated Richard Burgon for the deputy leadership.[25][26] 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.[27]

On 8 November 2023, Hussain resigned as Shadow Minister because of Starmer's refusal to call for a ceasefire in the 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".[28]

At the 2024 general election, Hussain was re-elected to Parliament with a decreased vote share of 37.9% and a decreased majority of 6,189.[29]

On 23 July 2024, the whip was suspended from Hussain for six months by the Labour Party, after he voted for a Scottish National Party amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap.[30] He now sits as an independent MP until the whip is re-established.

References

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  1. ^ "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Maiden Speech (Imran Hussain)". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Bradford Council Election Results". Keighley News. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "Labour leader fights off challenge". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Bookies lose out in Galloway rout". The Independent. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  10. ^ "George Galloway wins Bradford West by-election". BBC News. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Latest batch of Labour candidates selected for 2015". LabourList. 5 November 2014. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  12. ^ "£1k Blair donation 'not right' for Imran". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Bradford East". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "Bradford MP appointed to Labour shadow cabinet". ITV News. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Former Lib Dem MP accused of anti-Semitism to contest Bradford East". Yorkshire Post.
  21. ^ "GENERAL ELECTION 2017: Candidates announced for Bradford's constituencies". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 11 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Bradford East parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC.
  23. ^ "Reshuffle: Twenty MPs Appointed To Labour's Frontbench". LabourList. 3 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  24. ^ "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Labour Party Leader". The Labour Party.
  26. ^ "Labour Party Deputy Leader Nominations". The Labour Party.
  27. ^ "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Imran Hussain resigns as shadow minister over Starmer's position on Israel-Hamas ceasefire". Sky News. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Bradford East - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  30. ^ Francis, Sam; Eardley, Nick (23 July 2024). "Labour suspends seven rebel MPs over two-child benefit cap". BBC News. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Imran Hussain.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Bradford East
2015–present 		Incumbent
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