Tulip wins 4th consecutive term as MP from Hampstead and Highgate

Labour candidate Tulip Siddiq, the granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been re-elected as a British MP for a fourth consecutive term from the Hampstead and Highgate constituency in northwest London.

She emerged victorious after defeating Conservative Party candidate Don Williams by a margin of 15,000 votes.

After polls closed on Thursday, Tulip garnered 23,432 votes (48.3 percent), while Williams - her closest rival - got 8,462 votes (17.4 percent).

Green Party candidate Lorna Russell received 6,530 votes or 13.7 percent.

According to data from the BBC, Labour saw a 0.7 percent increase in the vote compared to the 2019 elections and the Conservatives lost 5.8 percent of the vote share. The Green Party were the major beneficiary, seeing their share increase by 10 percent for the seat.

Following her win, Tulip said: “Thank you everyone. With your prayers, I have been elected for a fourth time. Our Bangladeshi community has always supported me. I am very grateful. They have supported me this time as well.”

“I want – our three sisters – Rupa, Rushanara, Afsana – all of them to win, so we all can serve the Labour government.”

Tulip, the daughter of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana, was first elected as MP from the Labour Party back in 2015.

She won re-election during the 2017 elections.

Later, in 2019, when the United Kingdom general elections were held three years ahead of schedule, Tulip swept to victory, defeating Conservative candidate Johnny Luk by a margin of more than 14,000 votes.

Keir Starmer, the 61-year-old Labour Party leader who began his political career in his 50s, is set to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. Tulip and her brother Radwan Mujib Siddiq were present when Starmer appeared before his supporters after his re-election from the Holborn and St Pancras seat.

Tulip has previously held several roles in the shadow cabinet as an MP of the opposition Labour Party in the British Parliament.

However, this time, she may be appointed to a new role as a minister of the Labour government.

Tulip, 41, has regularly been in the limelight due to her family’s political background and her candidacy for a hotly contested seat in northwest London.

Throughout her political career in the UK, she has had to face many challenges due to her family’s political identity.

Tulip, the daughter of Bangabandhu’s youngest daughter Sheikh Rehana and Shafique Siddique, was born in London’s Mitcham. She spent most of her childhood in Bangladesh, India and Singapore. She holds a Master’s degree in Politics, Policy and Government from King’s College London.

After joining the Labour Party at the age of 16, Tulip worked with Amnesty International Greater London and Save the Children.

In 2008, she also took part in the campaign of US Democratic leader Barack Obama.

Tulip was elected as the first woman councillor of Bangladeshi origin for Camden Council in 2010.

In July 2023, local party members ticketed Tulip to contest the Labour Party election from the then Hampstead and Kilburn seat.