Afzal Khan (British politician)

Afzal Khan
CBE MP
Shadow Minister of State for Immigration
Assumed office
7 July 2017
Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Shadowing Brandon Lewis
Caroline Nokes
Shadow Sec. Diane Abbott
Member of Parliament
for Manchester Gorton
Assumed office
9 June 2017
Preceded by Sir Gerald Kaufman
Majority 31,730 (69%)
Member of the European Parliament
for North West England
In office
13 June 2014 – 8 June 2017
Preceded by Brian Simpson
Succeeded by Wajid Khan
Lord Mayor of Manchester
In office
2005–2006
Preceded by Tom O'Callaghan
Succeeded by James Ashley
Personal details
Born (1958-04-05) 5 April 1958
Jhelum, Pakistan
Nationality British
Political party  UK
Labour Party (Co-op)
 EU
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Profession Lawyer
Website afzalkhan.org.uk

Mohammed Afzal Khan, CBE (Urdu: محمد افضل خان‎; born 5 April 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who serves as a Member of Parliament for the Manchester Gorton constituency, after his election on 8 June 2017. He was formerly Lord Mayor of Manchester for 2005–2006, and a Member of the European Parliament representing North West England from 2014–2017.

Early life

Khan was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 11. After leaving school without qualifications, he had a number of jobs – including as a Greater Manchester Police constable– before returning to education and qualifying as a solicitor:[1] he is now a partner of solicitors Mellor & Jackson in Oldham.[2]

Political career

Khan was first elected a Councillor in 2000[3] being re-elected in 2004, 2007 and 2011, representing Cheetham Ward and also served as Executive Member for Children's Services.[4][5] Khan was the youngest, first British Pakistani and Muslim, Lord Mayor of Manchester for 2005–2006.[1][6][7][8][9] He has also served as Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain[10] and is currently its North West representative.[11][12]

From 2000 to 2004, Khan was a member of the Department of Trade and Industry's Ethnic Minority Business Forum,[13] advising the then Secretary of State, Patricia Hewitt. Following the 2005 London bombings, he became a member of a Home Office working group aimed at preventing extremism.[14] Khan was appointed CBE for his race relations work and in 2011 was suggested as a candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth. In 2012, he was a potential Labour candidate for the Bradford West by-election, but instead Imran Hussain was selected; Hussain was defeated at the by-election by George Galloway.

Afzal Khan was selected in February 2013 on the Labour Party's list for North West England at the European Parliamentary election of 2014[15] and, on 22 May 2014, he was returned as MEP to the European Parliament to represent North West England.

In January 2016, Khan was appointed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament as Special Representative to Muslim Communities.[16] In this function, Khan will visit Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Denmark for work with local Muslim communities but he will also be inviting groups of young Muslims to the Parliament.[17]

Khan campaigning with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as part of the cancelled Manchester Gorton by-election.

In March 2017 he applied to be Labour's candidate in the Manchester Gorton by-election, 2017,[18] and was officially selected on 22 March.[19] The by-election was cancelled, however, following the dissolution of Parliament for an early general election on 8 June 2017.[20] Khan was again selected for as the Labour candidate for the general election and won the seat, becoming Manchester's first Muslim MP.[21]

On 3 July 2017, Khan was appointed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Immigration Minister within the Shadow Home Office team.[22][23]

In March 2018, Khan received a suspicious package containing an anti-Islamic letter and sticky liquid. The substance was later found to be harmless. Similar packages were received by fellow Labour MPs Mohammad Yasin (politician), Rushanara Ali and Rupa Huq.[24][25]

Khan has appeared on Channel M documentaries and worked together extensively with Manchester Historian Jonathan Schofield.

Personal life

Khan is married with a daughter and two sons, one of whom, Maryam Khan,[26][27] was also a Councillor on Manchester City Council, for Longsight.[28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "My work space". The Guardian. 27 August 2005.
  2. ↑ "Mellor & Jackson – Oldham Solicitors". Mellor & Jackson.
  3. ↑ "Local election results 2011". Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Members of the Executive".
  5. ↑ "Afzal Khan meets Sheikh Sultan".
  6. ↑ "Praise for Asian mayor". South Manchester Reporter. 7 July 2005. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  7. ↑ Khan, Afzal. "Mayor of the Year".
  8. ↑ Khan, Afzal. "Former Lord Mayor Receives CBE Award".
  9. ↑ Khan, Afzal. "Afzal Khan Receives 'Spirit of Britain' Award".
  10. ↑ "Afzal Khan". Salaam.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  11. ↑ "Founding signatories". Unite Against Fascism. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  12. ↑ "Ajmun Ruler receives Lord Mayor Afzal Khan". 2005.
  13. ↑ "The challenge for ethnic businesses". Asian Business Review.
  14. ↑ "Preventing Extremism Together" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Former mayor of Manchester Afzal Khan in European election race".
  16. ↑ "S&D appoints Special Representative for EU Muslims". 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "A Europe beyond politics: Rediscovering our humanity is the way forward". New Europe. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "Updated: The activists aiming to be Labour's next MP in Manchester Gorton - LabourList". 15 March 2017.
  19. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (2017-03-23). "North west MEP Afzal Khan selected as Labour candidate for Gorton by-election". men. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  20. ↑ "Manchester Gorton by-election cancelled because of general election". BBC News. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated". Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  22. ↑ "Reshuffle 2: The Maintenance of the Malcontents". New Socialist. 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  23. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn appoints 20 MPs to Labour's front bench". Labour Press. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  24. ↑ "Third MP gets Islamophobic letter". BBC News. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  25. ↑ Elgot, Jessica (13 March 2018). "Four Muslim MPs receive suspicious packages at Westminster". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Local News: Latest updates, pictures, comment - Manchester Evening News". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
  27. ↑ "PPC Profile: Maryam Khan - LabourList". 12 January 2010.
  28. ↑ Could it be Minister Maryam? Archived 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Gerald Kaufman		 Member of Parliament
for Manchester Gorton
2017–present		 Incumbent
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