Apsana Begum

Apsana Begum was selected to contest the safe Labour seat of Poplar and Limehouse at the 2019 General Election. She was endorsed by the left-wing group Momentum and nominated from an all-women shortlist, which included Tower Hamlets councillor Amina Ali and Progress activist Heather Peto.

In the general election in December 2019, Begum was elected MP for Poplar and Limehouse. She is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group of MPs.

In 2017, Begum became the first British Bangladeshi woman elected as Secretary of Tower Hamlets Labour Party.

She has been actively involved in local campaigns to protect public services, stating that "tackling inequalities and standing up for marginalised communities has always been key to me". She presented a petition to Tower Hamlets Council asking the Mayor to reconsider the 2017 budget "on the grounds that it is discriminatory to Women and Black and Minority Ethnic residents".

In 2014, Begum moved into her husband's residence, and they split up a year later. Her ex-husband is a councillor for Tower Hamlets. She does not have any children.

Begum was born in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, London to Bengali Muslim parents originally from Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, Bangladesh. Her father, Manir Uddin Ahmed (who died in 2012), was also a Labour Party politician, the Tower Hamlets Community Housing Board Director (2002–2006) and the 2004 Mayor of Tower Hamlets. Begum completed her education at Queen Mary University of London.

Apsana Begum (Bengali: আফসানা বেগম , Sylheti: ꠀꠙꠍꠣꠘꠣ ꠛꠦꠉꠝ ; born May 1990) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Poplar and Limehouse since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she succeeded Jim Fitzpatrick, who was first elected in 1997.