Imran Hussain (British politician)

Imran Hussain MP
Shadow Minister of State for International Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 January 2016
Leader	Jeremy Corbyn
Member of Parliament for Bradford East
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 May 2015
Preceded by	David Ward
Majority	7,084 (17.1%)
Personal details
Born	7 June 1978 Bradford, England
Political party	Labour
Religion	Islam
Website	Official website

Imran Hussain (born 7 June 1978) is a British Labour Party politician and a barrister. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bradford East after winning the seat in the 2015 general election.^[1]

Early life

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.^[2] He was the first in his family to attend university and went on to qualify as a barrister at the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn.

Political career

Councillor

Hussain is a Councillor in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council having first been elected in 2002.^[3] In 2003, as a newly elected Councillor, Hussain brought a motion to Bradford Council opposing the Iraq War.^[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]

Bradford West by-election

In 2012 Hussain was selected to contest Bradford West in a by-election caused by the resignation of the Labour incumbent, Marsha Singh, due to "serious illness."^[8] George Galloway of the Respect Party chose to stand at this by-election. Shortly before polling day, a leaflet was distributed in the constituency which asserted: "God KNOWS who is a Muslim. And he KNOWS who is not." It continued: "Let me point out to all the Muslim brothers and sisters what I stand for. I, George Galloway, do not drink alcohol and never have. Ask yourself if the other candidate [Imran Hussain] in this election can say that truthfully."^[9] The leaflet contained no identifying party logo or indication of the agent or printer, as required by law.^[9] Although a connection to the Respect Party candidate was initially denied, it was later confirmed that the document had been approved by Galloway.^[10]

The election was unexpectedly won by Galloway.^[11]

Member of Parliament

In 2014, Bradford East Constituency Labour Party opened its parliamentary selection process. In the final selection meeting held on 1 November 2014, Hussain beat three other candidates, including the President of the Trades Union Congress to become Labour's candidate for the seat.^[12] 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.^[13]

He was subsequently elected to Parliament in 2015 by gaining the seat from the Liberal Democrats with a 13.8% swing to Labour.^[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 to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.^[17]

On 14 January 2016 Hussain was appointed Shadow Minister of State for International Development by Jeremy Corbyn.^[18]

References

1. "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
2. "Maiden Speech (Imran Hussain)". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
3. "Bradford Council Election Results". Keighley News. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
4. "BRADFORD'S NEW MPs: Bradford East's Imran Hussain is supporting calls for leader on the left". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
5. "Labour leader fights off challenge". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
6. "Val Slater is revealed as new deputy leader of Bradford Council". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
7. "New Bradford MP rejects his Council allowance because it would be wrong to 'get two salaries'". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
8. Bradford West MP Marsha Singh to stand down BBC News 1 March 2012
9. Gilligan, Andrew (30 March 2012). "A runaway victory for George Galloway – and all praise to Allah". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 4 April 2012.
10. Pidd, Helen (22 November 2012). "Labour complains to police over leaflet's 'closet racists' claim". The Guardian.
11. "Bookies lose out in Galloway rout". The Independent. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
12. "Latest batch of Labour candidates selected for 2015". LabourList. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
13. "£1k Blair donation ‘not right’ for Imran". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
14. "Bradford East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
15. "Newly-elected Labour MPs call for a leader who won’t "draw back to New Labour"". LabourList. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
16. "Welfare bill: Who are the 48 rebel Labour MPs who voted against it?". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
17. "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?". Retrieved 28 February 2016.
18. "Bradford MP appointed to Labour shadow cabinet". ITV News. Retrieved 14 January 2016.