Apsana Begum is the Labour Party MP for Poplar and Limehouse, having first been elected to Parliament in 2019 with a massive majority of 28,904 in 2019.
The Poplar and Limehouse constituency is found in East London and covers Limehouse, Canary Wharf, the Isle of Dogs, and the surrounding area. One of the most diverse seats in the UK, with a mixture of highly paid employees from the City of London, and large sections of poverty, the seat was once represented in Parliament by the Labour Prime Minister, Clement Attlee. Asian voters now account for approximately 40% of the electorate.
Born in1990, Apsana Begum grew up in East London, and was educated at the University of London. She worked as an administrative officer for Tower Hamlets Council, before being elected to Parliament.
Begum is a member of the Momentum Group within the Labour Party, and has served on its national co-ordinating group. She supported Rebecca Long Bailey for the party leadership in 2020 and is regarded as being firmly on the left of the Party.
In July 2021, Begum stood trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court having been accused of three counts of making dishonest applications for council homes to Tower Hamlets Council. Begum was found not guilty and cleared of making fraudulent housing claims.
In June 2022, Begum issued a statement in which she revealed how she had been signed off sick from work amid what she described as a ‘sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse’. Ms Begum was facing the possibility of a ‘trigger’ ballot as to whether she would be reselected as the Labour party candidate in her constituency at the next election. In a trigger ballot a local party can decide to ‘trigger’ a selection contest rather than automatically re-adopting the sitting MP.
She has previously stated on Twitter that she is a survivor of domestic abuse.
Begum is divorced,
Website –apsanabegum.com
Email – apsana.begum.mp@parliament.uk
Twitter – @ApsanaForPL
