Naz Shah

Naz Shah
MP
Member of Parliament
for Bradford West
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded by George Galloway
Majority 11,420 (28.4%)
Personal details
Born (1973-11-13) 13 November 1973
Bradford, England
Political party Labour
Alma mater University of Bradford
Religion Islam[1]

Naseem "Naz" Shah (Urdu: نسیم ناز شاہ‎; born 13 November 1973)[2] is a British politician and Member of Parliament. She was elected at the 2015 general election as the MP for the constituency of Bradford West after her selection as the Labour Party candidate and gained the seat from George Galloway of the Respect Party.[3] In April 2016, she was suspended from the Labour Party following the emergence of a Facebook post she had shared from Norman Finkelstein facetiously suggesting the relocation of Israel to the US and was reinstated in July 2016.[4][5]

Early life and career

Born in Bradford,[6] Shah was abandoned by her father when six years old after he ran off with their neighbour's sixteen-year-old daughter. At age 12, she was sent to Pakistan to avoid her mother, Zoora's, violent partner, whom Zoora fatally poisoned because she believed he was planning to sexually abuse her daughters. She served 14 years in prison for his murder. While in Pakistan, Shah was forced into an arranged marriage.[6][7]

Before being elected as an MP, Shah was the chair of mental health charity, Sharing Voices Bradford, and had previously worked as a carer for disabled people, as an NHS Commissioner and a director for a regional association supporting local councils.[8] She has said that she voted for George Galloway at the Bradford West by-election in 2012.[9][10]

Political career

Shah won the Bradford West constituency with a majority of 11,420 over George Galloway in May 2015. She was chosen to stand for the Labour party in March 2015 after the original candidate had stood down.[3][11] On 10 May 2015, Galloway announced an intention to challenge the result, alleging that false statements and malpractice related to postal votes during the campaign meant that the result of the election should be set aside,[12] but did not launch a legal challenge.[13] In July 2015 Jeremy Corbyn, commenting on how Galloway had acted during the election, said "I thought the tactics he used against our candidate, were appalling. I was quite shocked; it was appalling."[14]

Naz Shah was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, in February 2016.[15]

Suspension from the Labour Party

Amidst an ongoing controversy in the Labour Party about antisemitism, Shah was discovered by blogger Paul Staines in April 2016 to have reposted a Facebook meme in August 2014 supporting the relocation of Israel to the USA.[16] Shah also commented on the post, suggesting the plan might "save them some pocket money".[17] In July 2014, she wrote on Facebook about a newspaper poll concerning alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza conflict that "The Jews are rallying to the poll" and in September appeared to compare Israeli policies to those of Adolf Hitler.[18] Shah asserted that her views on Israel had moderated in the 20 months since the post and on 26 April 2016 she resigned from her unpaid post as John McDonnell's PPS[19] while still holding her seat on the Home Affairs Select Committee investigating the rise of antisemitism in the UK. She was suspended by the Labour Party on 27 April 2016,[4] forfeiting all roles. However, on 5 July 2016 her suspension was overturned and she was reinstated. Her views were described as normal politics in Bradford in an Independent article in which the writer described being punched in the head and called a "fucking Jew".[20]

"Shah's apologies appeared to be heartfelt. She seemed genuinely contrite", wrote John Rentoul in The Independent. "If she has seen the error of her ways, then the best way to try to persuade others that anti-Semitism is wrong might be to enlist her to the cause, not cast her to the outer darkness."[21] Henry Zeffman of the London Evening Standard similarly wrote that Shah had in her apology "showed a genuine engagement with the anti-Semitism that has found a happy home on parts of the left, and a desire to stamp it out."[22]

In an interview with Vanessa Feltz, former London mayor Ken Livingstone said that while Shah's comments were "over the top", they were not antisemitic. He was also suspended from Labour for "bringing the party into disrepute" as a result of remarks made during that interview, which included alluding to the Haavara Agreement that "when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism – this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews".[23][24]

References

  1. ↑ "Labour MP Naz Shah tells of 'smear attempts' by party members". BBC News. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016. Because I'm a Muslim woman who lives in Bradford, that would really be very damaging for me culturally
  2. ↑ Hunter, Rosemary; McGlynn, Clare; Rackley, Erika (30 September 2010). Feminist Judgments: From Theory to Practice. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 279–. ISBN 978-1-84731-727-8.
  3. 1 2 "Bradford West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "MP Naz Shah suspended from Labour". BBC News. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Bloom, Dan (5 July 2016). "Labour reinstates MP Naz Shah after suspending her over 'anti-Semitism' storm". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Murderer's daughter Naz Shah tells why she is standing for Parliament". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Green, Chris (9 March 2015). "Naz Shah: Bradford West's Labour candidate pens emotional open letter explaining why she wants to be an MP". The Independent. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Labour's Naz Shah is new Bradford West candidate". BBC News. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Meet our new MPs – Naz Shah". The labour Party. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Pidd, Helen; Rhoden-Paul, André (9 April 2015). "George Galloway says his Labour opponent tried to join his party". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  11. ↑ Moore, Suzanne. "Naz Shah's story is one of survival. Politics needs women like her". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "George Galloway to challenge Bradford West election result". BBC News. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Pidd, Helen (4 June 2015). "Deadline expires for legal challenge over George Galloway election defeat". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ Cowley, Jason (29 July 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn: 'I think we have to think in terms of the disillusioned who didn't vote'". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  15. ↑ Lowson, Rob (9 February 2016). "Naz Shah to Become Parliamentary Private Secretary to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Parveen, Nazia (26 April 2016). "Bradford MP Naz Shah quits as McDonnell's PPS after antisemitic posts". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Wright, Oliver (26 April 2016). "Calls for Jeremy Corbyn to expel Labour MP over her backing of 'relocate Israel to North America' plan". The Independent. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Dysch, Marcus (26 April 2016). "Naz Shah steps down as private secretary after Facebook posts about Israel and Jews". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  19. ↑ Stewart, Heather (27 April 2016). "Naz Shah suspended by Labour party amid antisemitism row". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  20. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/you-wouldnt-be-surprised-by-naz-shahs-remarks-if-you-knew-more-about-the-town-she-came-from-a7005336.html
  21. ↑ Rentoul, John (28 April 2016). "Ken Livingstone has deservedly gone – but Naz Shah made a genuine apology we should be prepared to accept". The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  22. ↑ Zeffman, Henry (28 April 2016). "If Labour wants to stamp out anti-Semitism, it should take a lesson from Naz Shah". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  23. ↑ Stone, Jon (29 April 2016). "Labour antisemitism row: Read the Ken Livingstone interview transcripts in full". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  24. ↑ Fisher, Lucy (28 April 2016). "Livingstone suspended in antisemitism row". The Times. News UK. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
George Galloway		 Member of Parliament
for Bradford West
2015–present 		Incumbent
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