Bangladesh-origin politicians have consolidated their foothold further in British politics as Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, granddaughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been inducted in the shadow cabinet of opposition Labour Party. “Tulip Siddiq, also a niece of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been made state minister for culture, media and sports in (British) Labour Party shadow cabinet,” Nadeem Qadir, minister (press) at Bangladesh High Commission in London, told BSS over phone last night.
Newly - elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbin included Bangladesh-origin British MP Tulip as a junior member in his shadow cabinet. Through her induction in the shadow cabinet, the foothold of Bangladesh-origin politicians in the UK politics has been further strengthened, political analysts here said.
In this year’s May 7 election, Tulip Siddiq, daughter of Sheikh Rehana, was elected an MP in British Parliament from crucial Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, the top of the most 10 contested seats in London, on Labour Party ticket.
She got 23,977 votes against her Conservative counterpart Simon Marcus’ 22,839 votes. Born in Mitcham, London in 1982, Tulip completed two Master’s degrees—one in English literature and another in Politics, Policy and Government—from King’s College London. She was a former councillor in Regent’s Park and Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities in Camden Council, according to Wikipedia.
Tulip, who became the first Bengali woman councillor in Camden Council in May 2010, first contested the parliamentary polls this year.
Earlier, Rushanara Ali, the first British lawmaker with roots in Bangladesh, performed the responsibility as the “shadow minister” of International Development and Education after being elected as an MP for the first time.
The debut of Rushanara Ali, who hails from Biswanath in Sylhet, in the House of Commons was made through the previous UK polls in 2010. The Oxford-educated Rushanara won those elections with a margin of 12,000 votes.
With her victory, she entered the UK Parliament as the first Bangladesh-origin MP. Rushanara retained her seat from East London’s Bethnal Green and Bow constituency with a majority of 24,317 votes. She secured 32,387 votes, while her nearest rival Conservative candidate Mathew Smith bagged 8,070 votes.
Besides, Tulip Siddiq and Rushanara Ali, another Bangladesh-origin candidate Dr Rupa Huq, also from Labour Party, was elected in this year’s UK general elections. Dr Rupa Huq was elected from Ealing Central and Acton constituency by bagging 22,002 votes.
Her nearest rival Conservative Party-backed Angie Bray obtained 21,728 votes. Rup Huq is a senior lecturer of the Sociology Department of the Kingston University and her ancestral home is in Pabna.
With her victory, the Labour Party regained the Ealing Central and Acton constituency.
For the first time in the history of Britain, 11 Bangladesh-origin candidates vied for seats in the House of Commons through this election. Seven candidates have been nominated by Ed Miliband’s main opposition Labour Party, while three from Liberal Democrats and one from Conservative Party.