Adnan Hussain is the independent MP for Blackburn, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Hussain received 10,518 votes (27.0%). The Labour candidate, Kate Hollern, received 10,386 votes (26.7%), while Craig Murray of the Workers Party of Britain (WPB) received 7,105 votes (18.3%). Hussain was elected with a narrow majority of 132 votes.

The Blackburn constituency is located in Lancashire, North West England. The seat, first established in 1832, was represented by Labour MPs continuously from 1955 until 2024.

Hussain’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Blackburn was Kate Hollern of the Labour Party. Hollern represented the seat from 2015 to 2024.

Political Career

Hussain was one of five independent MPs returned at the 2024 general election on platforms that emphasised Palestinian solidarity. His campaign focused significantly on the Israel-Gaza conflict, and he was supported by the 4BwD group of local independent councillors who had resigned from the Labour Party over its stance on the war.

In his victory speech, Hussain declared: “This is for Gaza. I cannot deny that I stand here as the result of a protest vote on the back of a genocide.”

Hussain went on to co-found the Independent Alliance of pro-Palestinian MPs, alongside Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr), Shockat Adam (Leicester South) and Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley).

In a joint-statement issued upon the group’s founding, the Independent Alliance MPs committed themselves “to provide hope in a parliament of despair”.

They added: “Millions of people are crying out for a real alternative to austerity, inequality and war – and their voices deserve to be heard. As individuals we were voted by our constituents to represent their concerns in parliament on these matters, and more, and we believe that as a collective group we can carry on doing this with greater effect.”

Hussain was among the Independent Alliance MPs who backed a 2024 Conservative Party motion opposing the government’s plan to levy VAT on independent schools. The motion called on ministers to publish a full impact assessment to show the effects of the planned reforms on independent schools and the state sector.

On 3 July 2025, the leading left-wing MP, Zarah Sultana, announced she was leaving Labour to co-found a new political party alongside Corbyn. The move immediately marked the most significant split on the British left in decades and was expected to include the Independent Alliance MPs. Following her social media statement, Sultana announced she would join the Independent Alliance.

However, the developments that followed Sultana’s announcement pointed to significant internal friction. In September, Sultana launched a membership portal without the full agreement of Corbyn and the interim leadership. More than 20,000 people registered within hours. Corbyn publicly described the new membership portal as a “false… system” and referred the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

In response, Sultana accused Corbyn’s inner circle of forming a “sexist boys’ club” that sought to exclude her from decision-making – an allegation his team denied.

Corbyn’s statement denouncing the new membership platform was co-signed by all of the Independent Alliance MPs, including Hussain – except Sultana. This appeared to signify the fact that Sultana had left the alliance.

The new organisation officially registered with the Electoral Commission as “Your Party” on 30 September 2025. Mere weeks later, Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed quit the party entirely. Hussain and Mohamed remained members of the Independent Alliance in the House of Commons.

In a statement published to X, Hussain said he had been disillusioned by “persistent infighting, factional competition, and a struggle for power, position and influence rather than a shared commitment to the common good”.

He stated that he was “troubled by the way certain figures within the steering process, particularly Muslim men, have been spoken about and treated. At times, the rhetoric used has been disturbingly similar to the very political forces the left claims to oppose.”

In a subsequent article for the House magazine, published on 28 November 2025, Hussain said he had left Your Party over an “increasingly rigid ideological culture that insists socially conservative values have no place in a left-wing movement.”

Political Views

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Hussain voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Assisted dying

Hussain voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Hussain voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Hussain was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Palestine Action vote: Also in July 2025, Hussain was one of 26 MPs to vote against the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. The ban, passed by 385 votes to 26, came after the Home Office accused the group of “aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public”. However, civil liberties organisations argued proscription represented an overreach of state power and a threat to the right to protest.

Before Politics

Born in July 1989 in Burnley, Lancashire, Hussain attended Mansfield High School in Brierfield. He studied law at the University of Central Lancashire.

Hussain was admitted as a solicitor in August 2022.

Personal Life

Hussain lives in Wilpshire, Lancashire.

He is of Pakistani descent. His paternal grandfather moved to the UK from Kharian in the 1950s.

Trivia

Hussain’s victory in 2024 marked the first time Labour had lost the Blackburn seat since 1955.