Rosena Allin-Khan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rosena Allin-Khan
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Official portrait, 2019
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| Member of Parliament for Tooting |
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| Assumed office 16 June 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Sadiq Khan | ||||||||||||
| Majority | 19,487 (36.8%) | ||||||||||||
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| Member of Wandsworth Council for Bedford |
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| In office 22 May 2014 – 3 May 2018 |
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| Born |
Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan
10 May 1978 Tooting, London, England |
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||
| Residences | Tooting, London, England | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Brunel University (BSc) Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge (MB BChir) |
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| Occupation |
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Rosena Allin-Khan is a British politician and a medical doctor. She was born on May 10, 1978. Since 2016, she has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting. She is part of the Labour Party. From 2020 to 2023, she was the Shadow Minister for Mental Health. This means she was the main spokesperson for her party on mental health issues.
She also ran to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 2020. She finished in second place. Before that, she was the Shadow Minister for Sport from 2016 to 2020.
Early Life and Education
Rosena Allin-Khan was born in Tooting, a part of London. Her parents were both musicians. Her mother was from Poland and sang in a Polish girl group called Filipinki. Her father was from Pakistan. They met when her mother's band was touring in London.
After Rosena and her brother were born, her parents separated. Her mother worked three jobs to support them. Rosena went to Trinity St Mary's Primary School and then The Grey Coat Hospital.
She initially hoped to study medicine but her exam grades were not high enough. Instead, she studied medical biochemistry at Brunel University. She worked part-time jobs to pay for her studies. Later, she was accepted to study medicine at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, with the help of scholarships.
Medical Career
After becoming a doctor, Rosena Allin-Khan worked at the Royal London and Homerton Hospitals. She also earned a Master's degree in public health. This led her to work as a humanitarian aid doctor. She helped people in places like Gaza, Israel, Africa, and Asia.
Before she became an MP, she worked as a junior doctor in the emergency department at St George's Hospital in Tooting. Even now, she still works shifts at St George's Hospital when Parliament is not in session.
Political Journey
Her work in public health also made her interested in local politics. She was elected as a local councillor for Bedford Ward in Balham on Wandsworth Council. She served from 2014 to 2018. She was also the deputy leader of the Labour group on the council.
In May 2016, the MP for Tooting, Sadiq Khan, resigned because he became the Mayor of London. Rosena Allin-Khan was chosen to be the Labour Party candidate for the vacant seat.
During her election campaign, she talked about her local roots and her Polish-Pakistani background. When the election results were announced, she paid tribute to Jo Cox. Jo Cox was another Labour MP who was sadly murdered on the same day as the by-election.
She supported staying in the European Union during the 2016 Brexit vote. Later, she also campaigned for a second public vote on the issue.
In October 2016, Rosena Allin-Khan became the Shadow Minister for Sport. In this role, she promised to bring back "safe standing" areas at football matches if Labour won the next election. She also campaigned for England's semi-final match in the 2018 World Cup to be shown on big public screens. She noted that the St George's Flag had sometimes been linked with extreme groups. She was happy that England's success in the World Cup helped everyone feel proud of the flag again.
She won her seat again in the 2017 and 2019 general elections. She received more votes in 2017, but slightly fewer in 2019.
In 2020, Rosena Allin-Khan ran for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. She said she would help unite the party. She also highlighted her background as a doctor and her working-class roots. She came in second place to Angela Rayner.
She was then appointed as Shadow Minister for Mental Health in Keir Starmer's first shadow cabinet. During the coronavirus pandemic, she worked 12-hour shifts at St George's Hospital in Tooting. She did this while also being an MP and a shadow minister.
She asked for more mental health support for NHS staff during the pandemic. She noted that many frontline workers were struggling. She also said the UK Government was too slow to act, especially with lockdowns and widespread testing.
In May 2021, she became a Shadow Secretary of State. This role was changed to Shadow Cabinet Minister in November 2021.
Rosena Allin-Khan resigned from the Shadow Cabinet on September 4, 2023. She disagreed with Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting's ideas about using private companies for the National Health Service (NHS). She also felt that the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, did not see a place for a mental health role in a future Labour government.
In the 2024 general election, Rosena Allin-Khan was re-elected. She won with an even larger number of votes. She received 55.2% of the total votes. She also received the most votes of any Labour MP in the country.
Personal Life
Rosena Allin-Khan is married and lives in Tooting with her husband, who is Welsh. They have two daughters. She is a Muslim.
She enjoys amateur boxing and trains at Balham Boxing Club. She also serves as the team doctor for the club.
