London councillors face backlash over campaigning for Bangladeshi MP bids while holding UK office

Residents say councillors were elected to represent their community, not Bangladesh, calling their overseas campaigning “unacceptable”

Tower Hamlets

Several Tower Hamlets councillors in East London have come under criticism for campaigning to become Members of Parliament in Bangladesh while still holding office locally in the United Kingdom.

On Thursday, the Evening Standard reported that multiple councillors intend to seek nominations for Bangladesh’s national election, scheduled for February 2026.

Among them is Sabina Khan, running as a candidate for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Sabina was elected in Mile End in 2022 as a Labour councillor but defected to the borough’s ruling Aspire Party last year.

Citing council records, the Evening Standard said it showed she holds significant roles on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Licensing Committees, yet she has attended fewer than half of her expected meetings since February.

Social media posts indicate she has been actively campaigning in Bangladesh, it reported.

Mile End resident Mohammed Hussein told the Evening Standard, “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.”

Another resident, 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.”

[More to follow]