Afzal Khan (British politician)

Mohammed Afzal Khan, (محمد افضل خان; born 5 April 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Rusholme since the 2024 general election. He previously served as the MP for Manchester Gorton from 2017 until 2024.

As a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Manchester Gorton's boundaries were changed, and Khan stood instead in Manchester Rusholme, which overlaps with his previous constituency.

He was formerly Lord Mayor of Manchester for 2005–2006, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2014 to 2017.

Early life and education
Mohammed Khan was born on 5 April 1958 in Jhelum, Pakistan, before coming to the UK aged 11. After leaving school without any qualifications, he had a number of jobs, including as a police officer for Greater Manchester Police, a labourer and bus driver. He returned to education at Abraham Moss College and got a degree in law from Manchester Polytechnic before qualifying as a solicitor in 1996.

Political career
Khan started his political career in local government before moving to the European Parliament and then the Parliament of the United Kingdom after becoming an MP in the 2017 United Kingdom general election.

Local government
Khan was first elected a Labour councillor in 2000, being re-elected in 2004, 2007 and 2011, representing Cheetham Ward. He served as Executive Member for Children's Services.

From 2000 to 2004, Khan was a member of the Department of Trade and Industry's Ethnic Minority Business Forum, advising the then Secretary of State, Patricia Hewitt.

Khan became the first Muslim Lord Mayor of Manchester, taking the position for 2005–2006.

Following the 2005 London bombings, he became a member of a Home Office working group aimed at preventing extremism.

In 2008, Khan was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his work on race relations.

He has also served as Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain and is its North West representative.

In 2011, Khan was suggested as a candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth. In 2012, he was a potential candidate for the Bradford West by-election but lost the nomination to Imran Hussain, who was defeated by Respect Party candidate, George Galloway.

European Parliament
Khan was selected in February 2013 on the Labour Party's list for North West England at the European Parliamentary election of 2014 and, on 22 May 2014, he was returned as MEP to the European Parliament to represent North West England.

In January 2016, Khan was appointed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament as Special Representative to Muslim Communities. In this function, Khan visited Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Denmark for work with local Muslim communities and invited groups of young Muslims to the Parliament.

Parliamentary career
In March 2017, Khan applied to be Labour's candidate in the 2017 Manchester Gorton by-election and was officially selected on 22 March. Prior to the election, he said "I condemn the statements made by Ken Livingstone and I believe there is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party." He added, "I have been a lifelong campaigner against racism and anti-Semitism. In 2008, I was awarded a CBE in part for my work encouraging greater understanding between Muslims and Jews. I intend to continue this work if I am elected as MP for Manchester Gorton."

The by-election was cancelled following the dissolution of Parliament for the early general election on 8 June 2017. Khan was elected to Parliament as MP for Manchester Gorton with 76.3% of the vote and a majority of 31,730. In July 2017, Khan was appointed Shadow Immigration Minister.

In March 2018, Khan received a suspicious package containing an anti-Islamic letter and sticky liquid. The substance was later found to be harmless. Similar packages were received by fellow Labour MPs Mohammad Yasin, Rushanara Ali and Rupa Huq.

In July 2019, Khan apologised for having shared on Facebook two years earlier a video of American comedian Jon Stewart talking about Benjamin Netanyahu. The text under the video referred to an "Israel-British-Swiss-Rothschilds crime syndicate" and "mass murdering Rothschilds Israeli mafia criminal liars". Khan said he was "mortified", adding "I didn't read the text below, which contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy about the Rothschilds. I would never have shared it if I had seen that".

At the 2019 general election, Khan was re-elected with an increased vote share of 77.6% and a decreased majority of 30,339.

From August 2020 to 2022, Khan served as parliamentary chair for the Labour Muslim Network.

Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Khan's constituency of Manchester Gorton was abolished, and replaced with Manchester Rusholme. In June 2024, Khan was selected as the Labour candidate in Manchester Rusholme at the 2024 general election. He won the seat with a vote share of 51.9% and a majority of 8,235.

In the September 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Exports. One month later Khan resigned from the frontbench to vote for a Scottish National Party (SNP) motion demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Personal life
Khan is married to Dr. Shkeela Kayani with who he has one son and two daughters. One of his daughters, Maryam Khan, served as a councillor for Longsight at Manchester City Council.