Tulip Siddiq

Tulip Siddiq
MP FRSA
Member of Parliament
for Hampstead and Kilburn
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded by Glenda Jackson
Majority 1,138 (2.1%)
Member of the Camden London Borough Council
for Regent's Park
In office
6 May 2010 – 22 May 2014
Preceded by Theodore Blackwell
Succeeded by Nadia Shah
Personal details
Born Tulip Rizwana Siddiq
(1982-09-16) 16 September 1982
Mitcham, London, England
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Christian Percy (2013–present)
Relations Sheikh Hasina (Aunt)
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Grandfather)
M. A. Wazed Miah (Uncle)
Sajeeb Wazed (Cousin)
Alma mater University College London
King's College London
Religion Islam
Website Official website

Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, FRSA (Bengali: টিউলিপ রেজওয়ানা সিদ্দীক; born 16 September 1982) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Kilburn at the 2015 general election.

She is vice-chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism and a member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee. She was previously a councillor for Regent's Park and Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities in Camden Council.

Early life

Siddiq was born in St Helier Hospital[1] in Mitcham, London. From the age of five, she spent her childhood in Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Singapore and Spain. In 1998, at the age of 15, she moved to North London and gained four A-levels, before completing her undergraduate degree in English Literature at University College London and then a master's degree at King's College London. In September 2011, she completed a second master's degree in Politics, Policy and Government, writing her dissertation on Local Government also at King's College London.[2][3][4]

Siddiq is the eldest daughter[5] and second eldest among three children[6] of Shafiq Siddiq,[7] [8] who was an academic and university economics professor[1] before a stroke left him disabled,[4] and Sheikh Rehana,[5] who gained political asylum as a teenager.[4] They met when Shafiq Siddiq was studying for a PhD[9] and they married in Kilburn in 1970.

Her maternal grandfather is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding father and the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[10] Her mother's older sister is Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.[11][12] She has an elder brother, Radwan "Bobby" Mujib[13] [10] (who lives in Bangladesh),[14] and a younger sister, Rupi.[15]

In 1975, Bangladesh Army soldiers stormed Siddiq's mother's home in Bangladesh and assassinated Siddiq's grandfather, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, alongside his three sons[4] and 16 other members of his family[16] in a military coup. Siddiq's mother and aunt survived as they were on holiday in Germany at the time.[4]

Political career

At the age of 16, Siddiq joined the Labour Party.[8] She has worked for Amnesty International,[9] the Greater London Authority,[17] political consultancy at Philip Gould Associates,[9] Save the Children, and Brunswick, where she worked on corporate social responsibilities initiatives for major British manufacturers, as well as MPs Oona King, Sadiq Khan and[2] Harry Cohen. Siddiq worked on Ed Miliband's campaign to be leader of the Labour Party,[17] and as a special advisor to Tessa Jowell.[8] She has campaigned for political parties internationally. In 2008, she campaigned for Barack Obama in the U.S despite not being a U.S. citizen.[2]

In a 2006 by-election, Siddiq stood for Camden Council but did not win. It was an overwhelming Liberal Democrats seat and had been Liberal Democrats for 25 years.[1] In May 2010, in the Camden election, Siddiq became the first Bengali female councillor in Camden Council,[18] where she was Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities until May 2014.[19]

In July 2013, Siddiq became the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in the 2015 General Election, following a vote by local party members. During 2013 and 2014, after being selected as Labour candidate, she campaigned on various topics, including against the proposed high-speed railway expansion High Speed 2,[20] and in opposition to high pay day lender charges on Kilburn High Road.[21] She has also campaigned in support of local services, such as to keep Belsize Fire Station open,[22] to improve disabled access at West Hampstead tube station[23] and to save the Swiss Cottage post office.[24]

Parliamentary career

In May 2015, Siddiq won the Hampstead and Kilburn seat with 23,977 votes, with a turnout of 67.3%.[25][26] Siddiq became Camden's first new MP in 23 years as the seat was previously held by Glenda Jackson from 1992 to 2015.[27] The seat had previously been the second tightest in the country after Jackson won by just 42 votes in 2010[28] and was billed as the UK's most marginal general election contest.[29]

In June 2015, Siddiq was appointed vice-chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism.[30] She is also a member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee.[31] In the same month, she was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election,[32] though she personally supported Andy Burnham.[33]

In September 2015, Siddiq along with Keir Starmer and Catherine West wrote a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron seeking urgent action to address the refugee crisis due to the Syrian Civil War.[34][35][36] In the same month, she was appointed Permanent Private Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Michael Dugher.[37][38][39][40]

In November 2015, she campaigned against changes to junior doctor contracts.[41] In the same month, Siddiq's maiden speech in Parliament was judged one of the top seven from 2015's intake of MPs by the BBC.[42]

In October 2016, she was appointed as Shadow Minister for Early Years in Jeremy Corbyn's front bench.[43]

Other activities

Siddiq was a board member of West Euston Partnership and is governor of the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.[11] She served as national BAME (Black Asian Minority Ethnic) Officer for Young Labour and Women's Officer for London Young Labour. She is an executive board member of Unite the Union, a member of the Co-operative Party, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is also a member of the Commonwealth Journalists Association (UK).[2] In July 2011, she joined Brunswick Group LLP as an Account Director. She also oversaw Camden's engagement with the 2012 London Olympics, which saw the launch of three legacy schemes to encourage more physical activities, Camden Sports Academy, School and Community Games, and Pro-Active Ambassadors.[44]

Siddiq served two years as a school governor at Beckford Primary School and Richard Cobden Primary School[45] and is a current governor at the Working Men's College in Camden.[46] As of January 2014, Siddiq supports a number of organisations in Hampstead and Kilburn, including school governor roles at Emmanuel Primary School[47] and Granville Plus Nursery[48] as well as being a trustee of the Camden Arts Centre.[49] She has also written for Hampstead and Highgate Express[2] as a foreign correspondent, primarily covering the U.S. elections.

Recognition

In January 2013, Siddiq was named in the British Bangladeshi Power & Inspiration 100.[5] In December 2014, she was named by The Guardian as "one to watch" in British politics.[50] The Sunday Times has described her as one of the "rising stars" of the Labour Party.[51][52]

Personal life

Siddiq is a Muslim,[12] has referred to herself as a socialist and has stated opposition to the Iraq War.[4][53] Siddiq's father suffered a stroke, which left him disabled[4] and unable to speak for five years,[9] and he now uses a wheelchair.[4] She has attributed the NHS and the care her disabled father received as the reason why she joined the Labour Party.[21] She has cited Barbara Castle as her political heroine.[1] Siddiq has described her mother and maternal aunt as "two very strong feminists".[54]

In 2013,[55] Siddiq married Christian William St John Percy (born 1984),[56] who is a Cambridge-educated[57] company director[58] and strategy consultant with a background in the British civil service.[57] The wedding reception was held a few months later on 7 July[6] in West Ham, London.[59] Siddiq lives in a flat on Finchley Road,[26] West Hampstead, London with her husband.[21][60][61] In November 2015, it was confirmed Siddiq is five months pregnant and expecting a daughter[62] in April 2016.[63]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bennett, Owen (20 October 2015). "Tulip Siddiq On Glenda Jackson, Why Obama Could Only Fall From The Pedestal, And Why Work Never Stops Even At Zumba Class". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Karim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (October 2010). British Bangladeshi Who's Who (PDF). British Bangla Media Group. p. 112. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "introducing Tulip Siddiq: your Labour voice in Fortune Green" (PDF). Tulip Siddiq. 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Usborne, Simon (5 April 2015). "Tulip Siddiq: Fighting for Britain's most marginal seat in the shadow of tragedy". The Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Rezwana Siddiq Tulip, among the 100 powerful British- Bangladeshis in UK". The Independent. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  6. 1 2 Pasha, Syed Nahas (19 June 2013). "Tulip Weds". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Neicho, Josh (25 July 2013). "Tulip gets Labour Party nomination in UK". Dhaka: Dhaka Courier. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Neicho, Josh (4 October 2012). "House of Straw... who's who in Labour's new generation". London: London Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Urwin, Rosamund (15 April 2015). "Tulip Siddiq: 'Go to as many strip clubs as you want — I really don't care. Are you serving our people?'". London: London Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  10. 1 2 Hensher, Philip (19 July 2013). "Tulip Siddiq: A heritage in Bangadeshi politics, a future in British?". The Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Miliband praises young British Bangladeshi Labour hopefuls". The Sylhet Times. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  12. 1 2 Neild, Barry (15 January 2014). "UK vote could create cross-border dynasty". Qatar: Al Jazeera. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Mahbub, Sumon (19 April 2015). "Hasina listens to Tulip's maiden speech in UK Parliament". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tulip Siddiq on her first visit to Bangladesh as a British MP". Bdnews24.com. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  15. ↑ Khalidi, Imrose (8 May 2015). "Tulip, Rupa, Rushanara win". Bangladesh: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  16. ↑ Lamden, Tim (17 June 2015). "Tulip Siddiq's maiden Commons speech: 'Open door immigration vital to Hampstead and Kilburn'". Hampstead and Highgate: Ham & High. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Tulip Siddiq – Camden candidate for 2010 elections". Labour Councillor. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  18. ↑ Wilkinson, Michael (30 January 2015). "9 seats that will decide who wins the General Election". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  19. ↑ Siddiq, Tulip (13 December 2013). "How a team of volunteers saved Camden's at risk libraries". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  20. ↑ Foot, Tom (13 February 2014). "HS2: Another crammed public meeting, another legion of opponents to high speed rail chaos". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 Beioley, Katie (15 July 2013). "Camden councillor Tulip Siddiq selected as Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn". Kilburn: Kilburn Times. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  22. ↑ Foot, Tom (6 June 2013). "Meeting told how Mayor Boris's proposals to axe fire stations will threaten safety of 'high-rise towers'". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Hutton, Alice (24 September 2014). "West Hampstead tube station must get lift, campaigners cry". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Foot, Tom (19 September 2013). "Plea to save Swiss Cottage post office gets louder". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Pasha, Syed Nahas (8 May 2015). "New British MP Tulip Siddiq says she learned politics from aunt Sheikh Hasina". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  26. 1 2 Beioley, Katie (8 May 2015). "Tulip Siddiq: 'Hampstead and Kilburn is my home and I'm so proud to represent it'". Hampstead and Highgate: Ham & High. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  27. ↑ Osley, Richard (8 May 2015). "Full story: Tulip Siddiq defends Hampstead and Kilburn parliamentary seat for Labour". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  28. ↑ Dysch, Marcus (8 May 2015). "Election 2015: Tulip Siddiq secures Hampstead and Kilburn for Labour". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  29. ↑ Beioley, Katie (7 May 2015). "Hampstead and Kilburn general election 2015: Polling day in England's most marginal seat". Kilburn: Kilburn Times. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  30. ↑ "Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq praised for early role tackling anti-Semitism". Hampstead and Highgate: Ham & High. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  31. ↑ "Tulip Siddiq MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  32. ↑ "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?". New Statesman. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  33. ↑ "Labour's rising star Tulip Siddiq on why maternity leave shouldn't be a problem in politics". London: London Evening Standard. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  34. ↑ "Britain best placed to lead international response to the refugee crisis". The Guardian. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  35. ↑ Pasha, Syed Nahas (5 September 2015). "Tulip Siddiq urges PM Cameron to take urgent action to address refugee crisis in Europe". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  36. ↑ "Tulip seeks action to end refugee crisis". Dhaka: Prothom Alo. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  37. ↑ Pasha, Syed Nahas (26 September 2015). "Tulip Siddiq named for Labour 'shadow' job". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  38. ↑ "Tulip made shadow state minister". Dhaka: Dhaka Tribune. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  39. ↑ "Tulip made shadow minister in Britain". Bangladesh: Newsnext Bangladesh. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  40. ↑ "Tulip Siddiq in shadow cabinet of Labour Party". Bangladesh: The Daily Star. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  41. ↑ Osley, Richard (5 November 2015). "New MP Tulip Siddiq challenges Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to meet frustrated junior doctors at Royal Free". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  42. ↑ Roberts, Rachel (3 November 2015). "Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq's maiden speech judged in top seven by BBC". Hampstead and Highgate: Ham & High. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  43. ↑ http://schoolsweek.co.uk/labour-reshuffle-rayner-stays-mike-kane-becomes-shadow-schools-minster/
  44. ↑ Barnett, Steve (27 January 2011). "2012 sports scheme – Olympic hopefuls support Gold Challenge initiative at Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  45. ↑ "List of Governors". Richard Cobden Primary School. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  46. ↑ "Working Men's College Governors". Working Men's College. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  47. ↑ "Membership of the Governing Body" (PDF). Emmanual Church of England Primary School. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  48. ↑ "Governors". Granville Plus Nursery School. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  49. ↑ "Contact". Camden Arts Centre. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  50. ↑ Cadwalladr, Carole (28 December 2014). "Rising stars of 2015: politician Dan Jarvis". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  51. ↑ Shipman, Tim; Woolf, Marie (12 April 2015). "Get-ahead gang in a hurry". Bangladesh: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  52. ↑ Pasha, Syed Nahas (19 April 2015). "Tulip Siddiq's determined campaign". London: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  53. ↑ Watts, Joseph (11 July 2013). "Bangladeshi PM's niece is contender for Labour marginal of Hampstead". London: London Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  54. ↑ Siddiq, Tulip (26 November 2015). "Why do we still cling to the belief that most rapes are committed by strangers in dark alleyways?". The Independent. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  55. ↑ Karim, Rezaul (4 July 2013). "On official trip, for niece's wedding – PM flies to London today en route to Belarus". Bangladesh: The Daily Star. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  56. ↑ Roy, Amit (4 August 2013). "Tulip gets the ticket". India: Telegraph India. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  57. 1 2 "He speaks Chinese and is learning Bangla". Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Chronicle. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  58. ↑ "B'desh PM's niece on verge of becoming British MP". India: The Tribune. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  59. ↑ Pasha, Syed Nahas (7 July 2013). "PM at Tulip ceremony". Bangladesh: Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  60. ↑ Pettitt, Josh; Watts, Joe; Neicho, Josh (15 July 2013). "Labour selection contest for Hampstead and Kilburn ends in brawl". London: London Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  61. ↑ "So what's his full name?". Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Chronicle. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  62. ↑ Osley, Richard (11 November 2015). "'It's a girl!': New Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq expecting first child". Camden: Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  63. ↑ Roberts, Rachael (11 November 2015). "Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq is pregnant with first baby". Kilburn: Kilburn Times. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Glenda Jackson		 Member of Parliament
for Hampstead and Kilburn
2015–present 		Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.