Shabana Mahmood

Shabana Mahmood (Urdu: شبانہ محمود‎; born 17 September 1980)[1] is a British Labour Party politician and barrister,[2][3] who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham, Ladywood since the May 2010 general election.[4]

Shabana Mahmood

MP
Mahmood in 2020
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
8 May 2015 – 14 September 2015
LeaderHarriet Harman (Acting)
Preceded byChris Leslie
Succeeded bySeema Malhotra
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
7 October 2013 – 8 May 2015
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byChris Leslie
Succeeded byAlison McGovern
Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills
In office
7 October 2011 – 7 October 2013
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byIain Wright
Succeeded byLiam Byrne
Shadow Minister for Prisons
In office
8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byAlan Duncan
Succeeded byDavid Hanson
Member of Parliament
for Birmingham Ladywood
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byClare Short
Majority28,582 (67.9%)
Personal details
Born (1980-09-17) 17 September 1980
Small Heath, Birmingham, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materLincoln College, University of Oxford
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Mahmood was born and brought up in Birmingham.[2][3] Her family roots are from Mirpur, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.[5] She spent five years living in Ta'if after her father relocated there. She graduated from Lincoln College, Oxford where she studied law and was the president of the Junior Common Room.[6]

She is a qualified barrister, specialising in professional indemnity.[7]

Parliamentary career

In the 2010 general election, Mahmood was elected for Birmingham Ladywood with a majority of 10,105, succeeding Labour minister Clare Short who stood down. Along with Rushanara Ali and Yasmin Qureshi, Mahmood became one of the UK's first female Muslim MPs.[2]

Mahmood served a number of ministerial positions under Labour leader Ed Miliband. In October 2010, Mahmood was appointed a Shadow Home Affairs Minister, later becoming a Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 2013.[8]

Following the 2015 general election, Mahmood was appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[9] In September 2015, following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader, Mahmood stepped down from the role, saying she "strongly disagreed" with him on the economy.[10]

In January 2016, Mahmood was elected to represent the Parliamentary Labour Party on Labour's National Executive Committee, and was re-elected in July 2016.[11][12] In November 2016, Mahmood was elected one of the vice chairs of Labour's National Policy Forum.[13]

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.[14]

In November 2016, Mahmood opposed a motion in Parliament for the UK to withdraw support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[15]

She was re-elected in the 2017 snap election, increasing her vote share to over 80%, one of the highest in the country; she retained her seat in the 2019 general election with a slight decrease to her substantial majority.[16]

After Labour's loss in the 2019 election, Mahmood was asked to commission a review launched by Labour Together of the party's election performance. She was joined by Lucy Powell, Ed Miliband, Jo Platt and others.[17] Consequently, she did not nominate any candidate for the 2020 Labour Party leadership election or deputy election.

Mahmood has served on the Public Accounts Committee, since 2017.

Electoral performance
Date of election Votes % of votes Change
2010 general election 19,950 55.7 3.0
2015 general election 26,444 73.6 18.0
2017 general election 34,166 82.7 9.1
2019 general election 33,355 79.2 3.5

Controversies

In August 2014, Mahmood was accused of promoting "mob rule" after she boasted on YouTube that she had recently participated in a protest calling for the boycotting of Israeli goods that temporarily forced a supermarket to close. Simon Johnson, CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council sharply criticized Mahmood, arguing that "It is completely inappropriate for a Member of Parliament to promote public disorder", while Conservative MP Mike Freer stated that "For any Parliamentarian to encourage mob rule as a way of protesting is shameful."[18]

A spokesperson for Labour party leader Ed Miliband later stated that "Ed Miliband has been clear that Labour does not support boycotts of Israel and we resolutely oppose the isolation of Israel... Having spoken to her, Shabana has made clear that she does not support calls for a boycott of Israel but supports the proper labelling of goods from the region."[18]

On 21 August 2014, Mahmood announced that she would continue to support boycotts of products from Israeli settlements. Mahmood stated she has "a difference of view with my party." In justifying her position, Mahmood stated that "We all agree that Israeli settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international law and they are not part of Israel. As such, they are an obstacle to a two state solution and a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine." However, Mahmood denied that she supported a boycott of products from Israel proper, stating that "There is no disagreement that a more general boycott of Israel would not contribute towards a lasting peace in the region."[19]

In March 2019, she spoke in parliament in defence of constituents who were concerned about Relationships and Sex Education lessons,[20] following protests at Parkfield Community School regarding the school's “No Outsiders” programme.[21] She later stated that her comments were misinterpreted and condemned the 'homophobic banners' and 'hostile protests'.[22]

Awards and nominations

In January 2014, Mahmood was nominated for the Politician of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[23]

In October 2015, she was named as one of the winner's of the women's magazine Marie Claire's Women at the Top Awards.[24]

In 2018, Mahmood was named as one of the Brummies Who Inspire in celebration of the 175th anniversary of Birmingham City University.[25]

References
  1. "About Shabana Mahmood". Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  2. Adetunji, Jo; Tran, Mark (7 May 2010). "General election 2010: first female Muslim MPs elected". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. "Shabana Mahmood MP". Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2011
  4. General Election 2010 Archived 24 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Birmingham City Council
  5. Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood (15 September 2011). "Human Rights on the Indian Subcontinent". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 532. United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 1254–1256. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018. Video. Archived 7 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Roy, Amit (7 April 2010). "Feisty Asians in UK poll fray". Kolkata Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  7. "Shabana Mahmood". politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. "Shabana Mahmood MP | Women in the Humanities". wih.web.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. "Shabana Mahmood MP". Parliament. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  10. Walker, Jonathan (15 September 2015). "Birmingham MP resigned because she 'strongly disagreed' with Corbyn on economy". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. Walker, Jonathan (27 January 2016). "Birmingham MP Shabana Mahmood represents Labour MPs on party's ruling committee". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  12. "Corbynistas and rebels make NEC gains as Skinner steps down". LabourList. 4 July 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. Thornton, Glenys (19 November 2016). "Great that my dear friend Ann Cryer has been elected Chair @UKLabour NPF and wonderful @ShabanaMahmood as vice chair #great labour women". Twitter.
  14. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  15. "Which Muslim MPs voted to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?". 5Pillars. 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  16. "Birmingham Ladywood parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  17. Chappell, Elliot (23 December 2019). "Labour Together launches commission to learn from 2019 election". LabourList. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. Press coverage:
  19. Walker, Jonathan (21 August 2014). "Birmingham MP Shabana Mahmood defies Ed Miliband and insists she still backs Israeli settlement boycott". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  20. "By opposing equality in sex education, Shabana Mahmood is underestimating children and othering LGBTQ people". New Statesman. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  21. "Parents protest over Birmingham school's LGBT equality teaching". BBC News. 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  22. Walker, Jonathan (21 March 2019). "MP Shabana Mahmood condemns homophobic protests outside School". birminghammail. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  23. "British Muslim Awards 2014 winners". Asian Image. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  24. Rice, Francesca (1 October 2014). "Our Women At The Top Award Winners Share Their Top Career Advice". Marie Claire. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  25. "BCU 175: Brummies Who Inspire". Birmingham City University. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Clare Short		 Member of Parliament
for Birmingham, Ladywood
2010–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Chris Leslie		 Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2015		 Succeeded by
Seema Malhotra
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