Tahir Ali was born on 15 October 1971 in Birmingham to Pakistani parents. He has worked for Royal Mail after securing an engineering apprenticeship at the age of 17.[1] He is an active trade unionist and served as a political officer for the Communication Workers Union.
Ali represented the Nechells Ward on Birmingham City Council from 1999 and was last re-elected in 2018 to serve until 2022, when he did not seek re-election. He served as part of the council's cabinet from 2000 to 2003 and 2012 to 2016, (shadow cabinet 2004 to 2012) his responsibilities including local services, development, jobs, skills, transport and the economy.[4] In 2012, he was the only ethnic minority member of the team.[5]
Parliamentary career
In October 2019 Ali was selected as the Labourprospective parliamentary candidate for Birmingham Hall Green.[6] The candidate selection process was undertaken by the Labour Party's National Executive Committee.[7] The campaign was marred by intimidation from former MP Roger Godsiff's supporters, resulting in three police investigations, one arrest for malicious communications and police patrols outside polling stations.[8]
At the 2019 general election, Ali was elected to Parliament as MP for Birmingham Hall Green with 67.8% of the vote and a majority of 28,508.[9]
Ali has been a member of the European Scrutiny Committee since March 2020.[11]
Controversies
In April 2020, Ali was given a formal warning by police after he broke government restrictions by attending a funeral with up to 100 mourners during the coronavirus pandemic.[12] West Midlands Labour Party Police commissioner David Jamieson also publicly condemned Ali's conduct, stating that his actions were "totally irresponsible" and that he "is not serving his constituents by endangering their lives".[13] Ali issued an apology stating that he only attended as an observer and would not be attending any other similar gatherings.[14]
Ali has been critical of the government of Narendra Modi in India. In March 2021, he expressed his "absolute support for, and solidarity with, the farmers protesting in India" and called for sanctions to be imposed on the government of India, citing the "abuse the human and civil rights not only of farmers, but of Kashmiri people through the military occupation of the region".[15] Ali further said that "political opponents of Modi in India are at risk of arbitrary arrest, and the civil liberties of all Indians are being eroded by an extremist, rightwing government".[16]
On 24 February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ali was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures.[17]
He is a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[18] During Prime Minister's Questions on January 24, 2024, Ali stirred controversy around the Israel–Hamas war. He asserted that Prime MinisterRishi Sunak bore responsibility for "the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands," sparking significant public and parliamentary attention.[19] In response to the backlash, Ali issued a formal apology on the same day, expressing regret for the choice of words, whilst maintaining his steadfast views on the Middle East. He acknowledged the need to apologise for the manner in which he described the Prime Minister.[20][non-primary source needed]
In November 2024, he asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of Abrahamic religions".[22] This was widely interpreted as a call for blasphemy laws.[23][24][25][better source needed] The National Secular Society called the idea "deeply alarming" [26][27]
References
^ ab"Transport – Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2020. In 1989, at the age of 17, I secured an engineering apprenticeship with Royal Mail.
