❓WHAT HAPPENED: Local politicians in Britain’s capital are also running for office in their native Bangladesh, a move the British government says is unacceptable.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: London councilors Sabina Khan, Ohid Ahmed, and several others from London’s Tower Hamlets area.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Bangladesh’s national elections are expected in February of 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I don’t believe it is fair. Most of the time she is in Bangladesh. She should resign. We elected her to represent us, not Bangladesh.” – London resident Mohammed Hussein.
🎯IMPACT: If allowed, the move could lead to foreign national governments having direct power in British politics, approaching a form of colonialism.
Criticism is growing over East London councillors in England pursuing parliamentary seats in Bangladesh while serving their British constituents. Several officials in the Borough of Tower Hamlets municipal government have confirmed plans to seek nominations for the South Asian nation’s February 2026 election, the first since protests overthrew the former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, in August 2024.
Sabina Khan, a key figure on the council’s Overview and Scrutiny and Licensing Committees, is campaigning for the Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Elected for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s leftist Labour Party in Mile End in 2022, she defected to the council’s ruling Aspire party, which only runs Bangladeshi candidates, last year. Council records show she has attended fewer than half of the required meetings since February, with social media posts indicating time spent promoting her bid in Bangladesh.
Mile End resident Mohammed Hussein voiced outrage to the local press: “I don’t believe it is fair. Most of the time she is in Bangladesh. She should resign. We elected her to represent us, not Bangladesh.”
Neighbor Zakir Hussain added: “I am not happy with my councillor. There are a lot of not happy people. Five or six months we have not seen her. Any problems [we have] she cannot answer.”
Independent councillor Ohid Ahmed, representing Lansbury ward in Poplar, is also vying for BNP candidacy. His online activity highlights Bangladesh’s economy, women’s education, and regional infrastructure issues like northeastern potholes. At least one other Tower Hamlets councillor shares similar ambitions.
Bangladesh’s top UK diplomat, Abida Islam, recently noted that “so much of London—especially east London—feels like Bangladesh.” Local governance under Aspire Mayor Lutfur Rahman, a Bangladesh native once removed from office for electoral fraud, has sparked controversy, including allowing Palestinian banners post-October 2023 while removing English flags.
A British Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman condemned the actions of the councillors: “This behaviour is unacceptable. We are clear that councillors must be able to effectively serve the constituents who elected them. All councillors must uphold the Nolan principles including integrity, objectivity, accountability.” In 2025, ministers were dispatched to monitor the council after a 2024 report decried distrust among parties and dominance by Rahman’s inner circle.
A council spokesman noted: “UK law does not automatically disqualify a person from being a councillor in Tower Hamlets solely because they are running for or hold an elected office in another country. The other country however may have laws that restrict dual mandates or foreign office-holding.”
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