Ayoub Khan is the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Khan received 13,303 votes (35.5%). The Labour candidate, Khalid Mahmood, received 12,796 votes (34.1%), while the Conservative candidate, Garry Hickton, polled 4,227 votes (11.3%). Khan was duly elected with a majority of 507.

The Birmingham Perry Barr constituency, located in the West Midlands, had been held by Labour since 1974.

Khan’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr was Khalid Mahmood of the Labour Party. Mahmood represented the seat from 2001 to 2024.

Political Career

Khan was one of five independent MPs returned at the 2024 general election on platforms that emphasised Palestinian solidarity. He went on to co-found the Independent Alliance of pro-Palestinian MPs, alongside Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Adnan Hussain (Blackburn), Shockat Adam (Leicester South) and Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley).

Khan resigned from the Liberal Democrats shortly before the 2024 general election, reportedly claiming that the party “wanted to prevent me from speaking about Gaza.”

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.”

Khan was among the Independent Alliance MPs who backed a 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.

Khan insisted the plan did “not stack up financially.”

He told the House: “In Birmingham Perry Barr, there is an all-girls faith school where parents earning just above minimum wage secure places for their children. We already have an enormous problem in the constituency with the secondary school sector, where waiting lists are somewhere in the region of 100 places.”

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 Khan – 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, independent MPs Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed quit the party entirely but remained members of the Independent Alliance in the House of Commons.

The party’s inaugural conference in Liverpool in November 2025 was marred by a first-day boycott by Sultana. Delegates also voted to make the previously proposed “Your Party” name permanent.

Khan remains a member of Your Party and addressed the party’s inaugural conference with an appeal for unity.

He stated: “Our struggle is about the kind of country we want to become, a country that protects the vulnerable, a country that refuses to pit us against each other, where the truth cannot be erased by those who own the media.”

He added: “For decades the established parties have had every chance to rebuild our public services, every chance to protect the most needy, every opportunity to put people before profit. And time and again they have failed.”

In October 2025, Khan called for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans to be banned from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa.

Khan delivered his maiden speech on 9 October 2024 during a debate on the Renters’ Rights Bill.

In it, he said: “Like many in this House – the most diverse in our nation’s history – I bring a unique story. Our diversity in race, religion and culture strengthens this parliament, reflecting the richness of the nation that we serve…

“My late father, Iqbal Khan, worked 12-hour shifts at the steel factory, while my mother, Parveen Akhtar, raised me and my siblings. Both my parents sacrificed family ties in Azad Kashmir to pursue a better future for me and my siblings.”

He added: “Finally, I would be doing a disservice to my constituents if I did not mention in my maiden speech the plight of the Palestinians. As a lawyer, dealing with evidence is my expertise, but a law degree is not necessary to see the injustice that we are all witnessing…

“Words without meaningful action are hollow. The only real action that the government can take is to immediately halt all arms sales…

“Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Our response must be comprehensive and principled.”

Before entering parliament, Khan was first elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Birmingham City Council in 2003. After losing the seat in 2004, he successfully overturned the result via an election petition citing postal voting irregularities and won the subsequent by-election in 2005.

Khan served on Birmingham City Council from 2005 to 2012 and again from 2022 to 2026.

Khan previously stood for parliament unsuccessfully as a Liberal Democrat candidate for Birmingham Ladywood at the 2005 and 2010 general elections. He stood for the West Midlands region in the 2014 European Parliament election.

Political views

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Khan 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.

Welfare

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Khan signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Assisted dying

Khan 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): Khan 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, Khan 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.

Before Politics

Born in May 1973 in Ratta, Azad Kashmir, Khan moved to England with his family when he was six months old.

Khan grew up in Birmingham, attending local schools. He studied chemistry at the University of Birmingham, and later obtained a masters degree in engineering.

Khan subsequently studied law at the University of Central England and was called to the bar in 2005.

Personal Life

Khan lives in his Birmingham Perry Barr constituency.

Trivia

Khan successfully challenged the result of the 2004 Birmingham City Council election for Aston ward through an election petition, leading to the original result being declared void. Khan subsequently won the 2005 by-election.