Rosena Allin-Khan
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Tooting
Assumed office
16 June 2016
Preceded bySadiq Khan
Majority14,307 (24.5%)
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Cabinet
2020–2023Mental Health
Shadow Frontbench
2016–2020Sport
Member of Wandsworth Council
for Bedford
In office
22 May 2014 – 3 May 2018
Personal details
Born
Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan

(1978-05-10) 10 May 1978 (age 45)
Tooting, London, England
Political partyLabour
Alma materBrunel University
Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
Occupation
  • Politician
  • medical doctor
Websitedrrosena.co.uk

Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan (born 10 May 1978)[1] is a British politician and medical doctor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, she attended shadow cabinet as Shadow Minister for Mental Health from 2020 to 2023.

She stood as a candidate at the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election, finishing in second-place after three rounds of voting.[2] She was previously Shadow Minister for Sport between October 2016 and January 2020.

Early life and education

Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan was born in Tooting.[3][4] Her parents were both musicians: her Polish mother had been a singer in the Polish girl group Filipinki, and met her father, originally from Pakistan, while the band was on tour in London.[5] After having two children together, the couple separated. Rosena's mother worked at three jobs to support Rosena and her brother.[5]

Allin-Khan was educated at Trinity St Mary's Primary School, Balham, followed by The Grey Coat Hospital.[6][7] But her disappointing A-level grades, two Es and a U, dashed her hopes of being accepted to study medicine.[8] Instead, she studied medical biochemistry at Brunel University, funding her education through a series of part-time jobs and establishing a strong record.[5] She was accepted to study medicine at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, where she was assisted by scholarships.[5]

Medical career

After qualifying as a doctor, Allin-Khan worked at the Royal London and Homerton Hospitals.[9] She also completed a Master's degree in public health.[10] Following this, she worked as a humanitarian aid doctor in Gaza and Israel, Africa, and Asia.[11][12]

Prior to her election to the House of Commons, she worked as a junior doctor in the accident and emergency department at St George's Hospital in Tooting.[7][9] In addition to her parliamentary and ministerial work, Allin-Khan continues to work occasional shifts at St George's Hospital during parliamentary recesses.[13][14]

Political career

Allin-Khan speaking at a hustings during the deputy leadership campaign in February 2020

Allin-Khan's work in public health also led her to become active in local politics. She was elected as a councillor on Wandsworth Council for Bedford Ward in Balham, serving from 2014 to 2018.[15][16] She served as deputy leader of the council's Labour group.[5][7][9]

Allin-Khan was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Tooting constituency, after the seat became vacant in May 2016; the sitting MP, Sadiq Khan, had resigned after he had won that year's London mayoral election.[7]

Allin-Khan's by-election campaign emphasised her local, working-class roots and Polish-Pakistani ancestry.[17] When the election results were announced, Allin-Khan read a tribute to Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen who was murdered on the day of the by-election.[18]

She campaigned to remain in the EU during the 2016 Brexit referendum, and later campaigned with the same position for a second referendum on the issue.[19][20][21]

In October 2016, Allin-Khan was appointed Shadow Minister for Sport.[22] While in this position, she pledged to introduce safe standing at football matches in the UK from the 2020/21 season, if Labour won the next election.[23][24] She further campaigned to have England's semi-final match against Croatia during the 2018 World Cup to be shown on big screens in public. She said that the St George's Flag had become associated with the far-right, and was pleased that the success of England in the World Cup had helped reclaim the flag for the wider population.[25]

Allin-Khan retained her seat in the 2017 general election and the 2019 general elections. She received a higher number of votes in the first of these elections, strengthening her position,[26] but falling back slightly in the 2019 election.[27]

Allin-Khan stood as a candidate in the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election. During the campaign, she said that she would be a unifying candidate, and highlighted her working-class background, and experience as a doctor.[28][29] She ultimately received 77,351 (16.8%) of first preference votes, and 113,858 (26.1%) in the final round, coming second to Angela Rayner.[2][30]

She was appointed as Shadow Minister for Mental Health in Keir Starmer's first shadow cabinet, shadowing Nadine Dorries.[31] Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK, Allin-Khan has been working 12-hour shifts at St George's Hospital in Tooting, in addition to her job as an MP and a shadow minister.[32][33]

She called for more mental health support to NHS staff during the pandemic, noting that there was a "rise in suicides, self-harm and suicidal ideation among frontline NHS and care staff" due to "a lack of PPE, an increased workload ... and witnessing more patients die".[34][35] She also criticised the UK Government for being too slow in acting, saying that it should have sooner introduced measures such as the lockdown and widespread testing.[36]

In October 2020, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards rebuked Allin-Khan for breaching the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament. As this was Allin-Khan's third breach of the rules, the matter was referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Standards.[37][38]

In the May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was made a Shadow Secretary of State, which was changed to Shadow Cabinet Minister in November 2021.[39]

Allin-Khan resigned from the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer on 4 September 2023, criticising Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting's advocacy for outsourcing the National Health Service (NHS) to the private sector.[40] She also said that Starmer did "not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet".[41][42][43]

Personal life

Allin-Khan is married and lives in Tooting with her husband, who is Welsh.[5] She is a Muslim.[5] The couple have two daughters.[3][7]

She is an amateur boxer, training at Balham Boxing Club. Allin-Khan also serves as the team doctor.[5]

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Leaderhip Elections 2020 Results". The Labour Party. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b Nickerson, James (7 October 2011). "Tooting by-election: Dr Rosena Allin-Khan chosen by Labour in battle to secure Sadiq Khan's former seat". City A.M. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Labour's Rosena Allin-Khan wins Tooting by-election". BBC News. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Urwin, Rosamund (20 May 2016). "Dr Rosena Allin-Khan on why she's a knock-out choice for Tooting MP". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  6. ^ See 12:46 in this video
  7. ^ a b c d e Gayle, Damien (14 May 2016). "Junior A&E doctor selected as Labour candidate for Tooting". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  8. ^ Wearmouth, Rachel (10 January 2020). "Rosena Allin-Khan Interview: Labour Deputy Leader Hopeful Says Growing Up In Poverty 'Puts Fire In Your Belly'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Allin-Khan, Dr Rosena". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2016. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U287708. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ "Wonder woman – meet the multi-talented A&E MP". Unison Magazine. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (3 August 2019). "I called out Palestinian suffering – and was met by antisemitic abuse". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  12. ^ Bayley, Sian (12 December 2019). "The election results for Tooting". getwestlondon. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  13. ^ Morris, James (6 March 2020). "Rosena Allin-Khan: 'I'll continue A&E work as Labour's deputy leader'". Yahoo News. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. ^ Segalov, Michael (26 April 2020). "Sunday with Rosena Allin-Khan MP: 'I've been doing shifts on the NHS frontline'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Bedford ward results 2014". Wandsworth Borough Council. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Bedford ward results 2018". Wandsworth Borough Council. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  17. ^ Quinn, Ben (17 June 2016). "Labour's Rosena Allin-Khan holds Tooting in byelection". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  18. ^ Press Association (17 June 2016). "Labour's Rosena Allin-Khan wins Tooting by-election". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  19. ^ Dance, Seb (19 March 2020). "Labour's pro-EU choice for deputy leader". The New European. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Labour frontbencher takes part in second referendum rally". Shropshire Star. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  21. ^ Allin-Khan, Rosena [@DrRosena] (1 October 2019). "Proud to be standing alongside @CllrFleur and @MarshadeCordova in Wandsworth - we're all committed to remaining in the EU and have long supported a public vote on Brexit" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Dr Rosena Allin-Khan". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  23. ^ Allin-Khan, Rosena (14 October 2019). "Exclusive: Labour pledge to introduce safe standing before 2020/21 season". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  24. ^ Tolhurst, Alain (25 February 2020). "Labour to bring back standing at Premier League matches from next year if it wins election". Politics Home. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  25. ^ Millar, James (25 February 2020). "Rosena Allin-Khan: Gareth Southgate's England have helped reclaim the St George cross from the far-right". Politics Home. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  26. ^ Pittam, David (9 June 2017). "Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan almost doubles previous votes in Labour triumph". South West Londoner. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  27. ^ "Tooting 2019 General Election results: Rosena Allin-Khan claims victory for Labour". Wandsworth Times. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  28. ^ Proctor, Kate (7 January 2020). "Labour must ditch 'ideological purity', says Rosena Allin-Khan". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  29. ^ "Labour Deputy Leadership candidates pitch to i readers". inews. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  30. ^ Rowena Mason (4 April 2020). "Keir Starmer wins Labour leadership election". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  31. ^ Rajiv Syal (6 April 2020). "Ed Miliband returns to Labour frontbench in Keir Starmer reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  32. ^ Iqbal, Nosheen (10 May 2020). "Rosena Allin-Khan: 'If Matt Hancock found my tone difficult, that's on him'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  33. ^ Morris, James (5 May 2020). "Backlash as Matt Hancock tells Labour minister to 'watch her tone' over coronavirus criticism". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  34. ^ McCann, Jaymi (2 May 2020). "NHS staff are 'breaking down' on the frontline, Labour has warned". inews. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  35. ^ Maciuca, Andra (26 April 2020). "MP says mental health issues and family losses 'could have been avoided'". The New European. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  36. ^ "Earlier lockdown could have saved lives, says shadow minister". Express & Star. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  37. ^ "Dr Rosena Allin-Khan - Committee on Standards - House of Commons". publications.parliament.uk.
  38. ^ Allegretti, Aubrey (22 October 2020). "Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan told to repay £1,142 for third Commons rule breach". Sky News. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  39. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (29 November 2021). "Big reshuffle sees Cooper, Streeting, Lammy, Reynolds, Phillipson promoted". LabourList. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  40. ^ Fisher, Andrew (4 September 2023). "The Labour reshuffle leaves Starmer surrounded by yes-men". i. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  41. ^ Jarvis, Chris (4 September 2023). "'You do not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet': Rosena Allin-Khan resigns from Labour frontbench". Left Foot Forward. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  42. ^ Keane, Daniel (4 September 2023). "Shadow mental health minister resigns with swipe at Keir Starmer". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  43. ^ Barradale, Greg (4 September 2023). "Shadow mental health minister's resignation sends 'worrying message' about Keir Starmer's Labour". The Big Issue. Retrieved 4 September 2023.

External links

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Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded bySadiq Khan Member of Parliamentfor Tooting 2016–present Incumbent
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