Luthfur Rahman

Not to be confused with Lutfur Rahman (British politician).

Cllr Luthfur Rahman OBE
Personal details
Born	October 1976 (age 47) Patli, Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, Bangladesh
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Parents	Surabur Rahman (father) Fulmala Rahman (mother)
Residence(s)	Longsight, Manchester, United Kingdom
Profession	Politician

Luthfur Rahman OBE (Bengali: লুথফুর রহমান; born October 1976) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as the deputy leader of Manchester City Council from 2021 to 2024. In May 2008, he became the first person of Bangladeshi origin to be elected a Councillor on Manchester City Council.

Early life

Rahman was born into a Bengali Muslim family from Shathal in Patli, Jagannathpur in the Sunamganj District of Bangladesh. He is the eldest son of Surabur Rahman, best known as the president of the Greater Manchester Awami League and former chairman of the Shahjalal Mosque and Islamic Centre in Manchester, who migrated to Manchester in 1968 and settled in Longsight.

In 1980 at the age of three Luthfur along with his mother and his siblings joined his father in the UK. He attended local schools St Agnes Primary School and Burnage High School. He would later return to St Agnes Primary School as a School governor and to Burnage High School mentoring for Mosaic Network.

Rahman started his working life in the restaurant trade, working his way up from a waiter to a chef and then manager. At the age of 17, he left Stockport College and opened his own restaurant in Wilmslow. Over the next 22 years, he continued working in the catering trade establishing several different successful restaurants and takeaways. He is a qualified financial adviser and has also worked as an intermediary.

Career

Rahman was first elected to Manchester City Council in 2008 taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats with a swing of over 30 per cent gaining a majority of 1147. He was re-elected in 2012 doubling his majority. In 2010 Rahman was elected by fellow Councillors to be the lead member for the race and equality portfolio at Manchester City Council.

In the 2024 local elections, Rahman lost his Longsight ward seat to Shahbaz Sarwar of The Workers Party of Britain (WPB) by just 184 votes. The surge in support for the WPB has been attributed to the national position of the Labour Party on the 2024 conflict in Gaza.

Rahman is the chairman of the Young Foundation’s Uprising programme in Greater Manchester which he brought to North West England. Rahman was the first councillor on Manchester City Council to call for the introduction of the living wage in Manchester.

Recognition

In 2011 Rahman was awarded the Community Champion of the Year at the Local Government Information Unit Councillor Awards. The Local Government Information Unit described Rahman as having

"successfully developed links with marginalised groups across Manchester, and, furthermore, was at the forefront of an effort to bridge the various gaps between different generations. Importantly, after establishing these new connections, Cllr Rahman effectively used these channels to ensure that council decisions were sensitive to the different interests of different sections of the community."

Arts Council England have said of Rahman

"He was integral in the making of the The[sic] Festival of Manchester and helped Manchester achieve the UNESCO City of Literature status."

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to local government.

See also

• British Bangladeshi
• List of British Bangladeshis
• List of ethnic minority British politicians

External links

• Official website
• Luthfur Rahman on Twitter
• Manchester City Council Profile