Rushanara Ali, a British Member of Parliament (MP) of Bangladeshi origin, has resigned from her position as the UK's Minister for Homelessness.
Ali posted a photo of her resignation letter on her Facebook page on Thursday (August 7). A statement from 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister’s office, later confirmed her resignation, according to the BBC.
The resignation comes after she faced widespread criticism for a scandal involving a townhouse she owned. She evicted tenants from the property and then relisted it with a significant rent increase.
According to a BBC report, four tenants were living in Ali’s home in the Bow area of East London for £3,300 per month. After their fixed-term contract expired, they were given four months' notice to vacate the property in November. The house was then relisted for rent at a monthly rate of £4,000. This sparked major criticism of Ali, who was a minister responsible for the care of homeless people.
In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ali wrote, “I am stepping down from this role so that my position does not cause a distraction to the government's ambitious work.”
She added, “It is with a heavy heart that I am resigning. I have been sincere in my duty and my record of work is proof of that. However, it is now clear that remaining in the ministry would distract from the government's focus. Therefore, I have decided to leave the ministry.”
The report also stated that Rushanara Ali was the first Bangladeshi-origin MP in the UK Parliament. She has been continuously elected as MP for the Bangladeshi-majority area of Tower Hamlets in London since 2010.
In the election held last year, she was elected as the MP for the fifth time, representing the Bethnal Green and Stepney constituency as a Labour Party candidate. When the Labour Party formed the government, Ali became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Deputy Minister) in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The BBC report noted that this position is referred to as the 'Homelessness Minister' within the UK government. This was her first ministerial role in the UK government. Another British MP of Bangladeshi origin, Tulip Siddiq, also received a government position last year, being appointed as the 'City Minister' under the UK Treasury. However, she also resigned on January 14 after facing criticism over allegations of her association with corruption in the Awami League government in Bangladesh.
According to several media reports, Ali was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Her family moved to the UK when she was seven years old. She holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from St John's College, Oxford.
The report further noted that as an MP for her constituency of Tower Hamlets, Ali had recently been vocal against the exploitation of tenants by private landlords. She had stated that the government would empower people to fight against unreasonable rent increases. However, a tenant, Laura Jackson, told a local newspaper, “It’s a joke. Trying to charge that much rent is a form of extreme exploitation.”
Ali’s side had stated that the tenants had lived for the full duration of their contract and had the option to stay longer but chose to leave of their own accord.
Meanwhile, the Renters Reform Coalition and the tenants' rights organization ACORN had called for Ali's resignation. Annie Culum, an ACORN official, said that her actions were "in complete contradiction to the fundamental purpose of the Renters' Rights Bill."
Rushanara Ali herself had voted in favor of the 'Renters' Rights Bill' in January of this year, which stipulated that a landlord cannot evict a tenant and then re-rent the property at a higher price within six months.
Criticizing Ali, Conservative Party Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly called the incident an "example of extreme hypocrisy." He stated that such a person should not be in charge of homelessness.
The incident involving Ali's house was first reported by the i newspaper. Citing a former tenant, the newspaper's report said they were given four months' notice in November that their contract would not be renewed.
The Green Party also joined the criticism, stating that the incident made it clear that specific laws are needed to protect tenants, including provisions for rent control and prohibiting no-fault evictions.
