Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, FRSA (Bengali: টিউলিপ রেজওয়ানা সিদ্দীক; born 16 September 1982) is a British Labour Party politician, former councillor in Regent's Park and Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities in Camden Council. In May 2010, she became the first Bengali female councillor in Camden Council. In May 2015, she was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Kilburn at the General Election.

Early life

Siddiq was born in Mitcham, London, England. From the age of five, she spent her childhood in Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Singapore and Spain. In 1998, 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.^[1][2][3]

Siddiq is the eldest daughter^{[dead link][4]} and second eldest among three children^[5] of academic (before a stroke left him disabled)^[3] Shafiq Siddiq^[6] and former journalist^[7] Sheikh Rehana,^[4] who gained political asylum as a teenager^[3] and met Siddiq's father, who was studying for a PhD^[8] and married in Kilburn in the 1970. Her maternal grandfather is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.^[9] Her mother's older sister is Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.^[10][11][12] She has an elder brother, Bobby,^[9] and a younger sister, Rupi.^[13]

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 in a military coup. Siddiq's mother and aunt survived as they were on holiday in Germany at the time.^[3]

Political career

At the age of 16, Siddiq joined the Labour Party.^[7] She has worked for Amnesty International,^[8] the Greater London Authority,^[14] political consultancy at Philip Gould Associates,^[8] 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^[1] Harry Cohen. Siddiq worked on Ed Miliband's campaign to be leader of the Labour Party,^[14] and as a special advisor to Tessa Jowell.^[7] She has campaigned for political parties internationally and in 2008, she campaigned for Barack Obama in the U.S.^[1]

In May 2010, Siddiq became the first Bengali female councillor in Camden Council,^[15] where she held a cabinet position with responsibility for culture and communities until May 2014.^[16]

In July 2013, she became the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in the 2015 General Election, following a vote by local party members,^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]} despite being the victim of a smear campaign.^[24]

During 2013 and 2014, since being selected as Labour candidate, Siddiq has campaigned on various topics, including against the proposed high-speed railway expansion High Speed 2,^[25] and in opposition to high pay day lender charges on Kilburn High Road.^[17] She has also campaigned in support of local services, such as to keep Belsize Fire Station open,^[26] to improve disabled access at West Hampstead tube station^[27] and to save the Swiss Cottage post office.^[28]

In May 2015, Siddiq won the Hampstead and Kilburn seat with 22,002 votes, with a turnout of 44.4%.^[29][30] Siddiq became Camden's first new MP in 23 years as the seat was previously held by Glenda Jackson from 1992 to 2015.^[25] The seat had previously been the second tightest in the country after Jackson won by just 42 votes in 2010^[31] and it was billed as the country's most marginal general election contest.^[32]

Other activities

Siddiq was a board member of West Euston Partnership and is governor of the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.^[10] 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 at the Royal Society of Arts and is also a member of the Commonwealth Journalists Association (UK).^[1] 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.^[33]

Siddiq served two years as a school governor at Beckford Primary School and Richard Cobden Primary School^[34] and is a current governor at the Working Men's College in Camden.^[35] As of January 2014, Siddiq supports a number of organisations in Hampstead and Kilburn, including school governor roles at Emmanuel Primary School^[34] and Granville Plus Nursery^[36] as well as being a trustee of the Camden Arts Centre.^[37] She has also written for Hampstead and Highgate Express^[1] as a foreign correspondent, primarily covering the U.S. elections.

Recognition

In January 2013, Siddiq was named in the British Bangladeshi Power & Inspiration 100.^[4] In December 2014, she was named by The Guardian as "one to watch" in British politics.^[38] The Sunday Times has described her as one of the 'rising stars' of the Labour Party.^[39][40]

Personal life

Siddiq is a Muslim,^[12] has referred to herself as a socialist and has stated opposition to the Iraq War.^[3][41] Siddiq's father suffered a stroke, which left him disabled^[3] and unable to speak for five years,^[8] and he now uses a wheelchair.^[3] She has attributed the NHS and the care her disabled father received as the reason why she joined the Labour Party.^[17]

In 2013,^[42] Siddiq married Christian William St John Percy,^[43] who is a Cambridge-educated^[44] company director^[45] and strategy consultant with a background in the British civil service.^[44] The wedding reception was held a few months later on 7 July^[5] in West Ham, London.^[46] Siddiq lives in Finchley Road,^[30] West Hampstead, London with her family.^[17][19][47]