General Election 2024 London seats: Who will be my MP in Poplar and Limehouse

Millions of voters across London will go the polls on July 4 to elect the new Government. The Standard looks at key battleground seats in the capital. Here we turn the spotlight on:

POPLAR AND LIMEHOUSE

Estimated declaration time 4.30am

Candidates for main parties (in alphabetical order):

Apsana Begum - Labour

Nathalie Bienfait - Green Party

Freddie Downing - Conservatives

Richard Flowers - Liberal Democrats

Tony Glover - Reform UK

Ehtashamul Haque - Independent

Kamran Khan - Workers Party of Great Britain

Summary:

Apsana Begum won a huge majority of almost 29,000 votes at the 2019 general election and became Parliament's first hijab-wearing Member of Parliament. But it has not been a smooth ride for the Labour MP.

Shortly after her victory she was accused of three counts of making dishonest applications for social housing and taken to court by the then Labour-run Tower Hamlets council. She was cleared of all charges and told Snaresbrook Crown Court her "controlling" ex-husband had been in charge of her finances and she was "shocked" to discover the paperwork was in her name.

Her ex-husband Ehtashamul Haque, then a Labour councillor, was suspended by the party following the trial. Then in July 2022, while signed off work sick amid a "sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse", Ms Begum learned she had been triggered - meaning local party members had opted to vote whether to keep her as their candidate or pick someone else.

The process was paused when she appealed to the Labour Party to investigate complaints about the trigger ballot process.

There was much speculation over whether Ms Begum, a Corbynite, would survive Sir Keir Starmer's purge of left wingers after Rishi Sunak called the surprise general election.

But she dodged deselection and was confirmed as the party’s candidate. But now Ms Begum's ex husband, Mr Haque, has announced he is running against her at the general election to "set the record straight".

The constituency is ranked very high for its share of people from ethnic minority backgrounds compared to other seats and is ranked very low for its share of people aged 65 and over.

Area: Wards in the constituency include Blackwall & Cubitt Town, Bromley South, Canary Wharf, Island Gardens, Lansbury, Limehouse, Mile End, Poplar, St. Katharine's & Wapping

I’m not sure if I’m in this constituency: Here’s how you can check

Boundary changes impact: Boundary changes have not changed the political make-up of this constituency.

YouGov MRP poll prediction: Labour hold

Evening Standard view:

Ms Begum's large majority in this safe Labour should see her easily retain the constituency. But factions in the local party and the added complication of having to run against her ex husband will not make it a smooth campaign for the Corbynite.

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