Dr Rupa Huq is the Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Huq received 22,340 votes (46.8%). The Conservative candidate received 8,345 votes (17.5%), and the Liberal Democrat candidate secured 6,056 votes (12.7%). Rupa Huq was duly elected with a majority of 13,995.

The Ealing Central and Acton constituency is located in West London, covering the eastern part of the London Borough of Ealing. It includes areas such as Ealing town centre, Acton, and Southfield.

Created for the 2010 general election, the seat was held by the Conservatives for one term, from 2010 to 2015, before Rupa Huq gained it for Labour. It has since become a safer Labour seat. The area strongly voted Remain in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU) (by 70.8%).

Huq’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Ealing Central and Acton was Angie Bray, who represented the seat from 2010 to 2015.

Political Career

Huq currently serves on the House of Commons culture, media and sport committee (since March 2022). The committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Huq also sits on the panel of chairs (since June 2020). The panel of chairs is made up of MPs chosen by the House of Commons speaker, typically at the beginning of every parliament, to chair public bill committees and other commons general committees. In this capacity, Huq also chairs debates in Westminster Hall and may also act as temporary chair during a committee of the whole House.

Huq was previously the shadow crime and prevention minister from October 2016 until May 2017.

In September 2022, Huq had the Labour whip suspended after she was recorded making comments about the then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, describing him as “superficially black”, at a Labour Party conference fringe event. The audio clip was published by Guido Fawkes moments before Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, began his conference speech.

Huq said: “He’s superficially, he’s, a black man but again he’s got more in common… he went to Eton, he went to a very expensive prep school, all the way through top schools in the country.

“If you hear him on the Today programme you wouldn’t know he’s black.”

https://x.com/GuidoFawkes/status/1574731802182402048

Starmer called the remarks “racist” and said he had taken “swift action” in suspending Huq.

Huq apologised for her comments, stating they were “ill-judged”. Following an investigation, she was readmitted to the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in March 2023.

https://x.com/rupahuq/status/1574791834248876038

Upon rejoining the Labour benches in parliament, Huq said: “During my suspension I have reflected on the offence caused by my remarks at last year’s Labour Party conference and I want to offer, once again, my sincere apologies to everyone affected.

“As I promised at the time, I have undertaken and completed anti-racism and bias training.

“I want to make clear that I accept fully the conclusion of the party’s inquiry and the sanction it has imposed.”

In October 2024, Huq introduced the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill to parliament. It aimed to protect consumers by forcing sellers to display the full and final price of tickets upfront, tackling the practice of “drip pricing” where numerous fees are added at the checkout.

https://x.com/RupaHuq/status/1864969561134493998

The Demonstrations (Abortion Clinics) Bill, introduced by Huq in June 2020, sought to create “buffer zones”, or safe access zones, around abortion clinics to prevent the harassment and intimidation of patients and staff by protestors. The bill did not proceed, however the policy was later successfully introduced into law via an amendment to the Public Order Act 2023.

Introducing the bill to parliament under the 10-minute rule procedure, Huq argued that women have a right to access legal healthcare free from “intimidation” and “harassment”.

She told the House: “This is not about the rights and wrongs of abortion. While emotions run high, and there are sincerely held opinions on both sides of the argument, we must accept that it has been legal for 50 years in this country.

“This is about the rights of vulnerable women seeking access to healthcare in safety, anonymity and dignity, without the accompanying paraphernalia designed to induce guilt, such as grossly inaccurate quasi-medical leaflets or being filmed and livestreamed entering and leaving the clinic, which no other medical procedure would attract.”

In an April 2018 article for LabourList, Huq celebrated Ealing Council’s “groundbreaking” decision to introduce a buffer zone around the Marie Stopes clinic in her constituency.

She vowed to push for new legislation, calling for a “national solution” to ensure all women could access healthcare “in anonymity and free from intimidation.”

Huq was a member of the commons committee on the future relationship with the European union from March 2020 to January 2021, the public administration and constitutional affairs committee (PACAC) from September 2017 to November 2019, the regulatory reform committee from October 2015 to May 2017, and the justice committee from October 2015 to October 2016.

Huq is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for British Sikhs, ethnic minority business owners, Fairtrade, sexual and reproductive health in the UK, single-parent families and water, sanitation and hygiene.

Huq delivered her maiden speech on 11 June 2015 during a debate on the European Union (Finance) Bill. In it, she said: “My 18 months as a [parliamentary] candidate opened my eyes to things I had never seen before in 43 years there.

“Some of my visits were to places such as the Ealing food bank, the Ealing soup kitchen, the Ealing churches’ night shelter and the Ealing Samaritans – all of whom report an unprecedented take-up of their services.”

She added: “In this day and age in Ealing, which was once known as ‘Queen of the suburbs’, that cannot be right.

“While our victory in Ealing was a great result against the tide, it was tempered with sadness that my dad never lived to see it and disappointment at the broader national results.”

Huq previously stood unsuccessfully as the Labour candidate for Chesham and Amersham in the 2005 general election, finishing third to Conservative incumbent Cheryl Gillan on 6,610 votes (14.0%).

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Huq was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was support by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2020: Huq was one of 82 Labour MPs who nominated Keir Starmer for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Starmer’s 82 nominations were the highest of any candidate. The shadow Brexit secretary won a decisive victory in the first round with 56.2% of the vote, defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.

Labour leadership 2015: Huq was part of a group of MPs who lent their nominations to ensure Corbyn, a veteran backbencher, reached the threshold of 35 required to appear on the ballot, intending to “broaden the debate.” Following Corbyn’s landslide victory with 59.5% of the vote, several of these MPs expressed regret.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Huq was labelled as “core group plus” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty. This label suggested the Corbyn leadership viewed Huq as a reliable supporter.

Labour leadership 2016: Huq was one of 162 Labour MPs who nominated Owen Smith for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The election was triggered by a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn following the EU referendum, which led to a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs. Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, was ultimately defeated by Corbyn, who won with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Huq supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 70.8% of whom also voted to Remain

In a June 2016 article for The House magazine, Huq argued that a “Leave vote would be disastrous for children of the Commonwealth.”

She wrote: “This is one decision that we can’t wake up and regret on Friday morning. We need to build bridges not walls and be a full twenty-first century player on the global stage: in the Commonwealth, NATO, UN and EU. Leading them, not leaving them.”

Article 50: In February 2017, Huq voted against the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading. In voting against the bill, Huq defied the party whip – one of 47 Labour MPs to do so.

In a December 2018 article for LabourList, Huq argued that the internal Conservative Party drama over Brexit was concealing the “real victims” of the process.

She wrote: “Immigration issues will hit BAME EU migrants the hardest, since they look visibly different and are probably more likely to be asked for ID to access employment, housing and healthcare. The Roma community are also vulnerable to this, since they tend not to feature on electoral registers or have identity documents and are more likely to be stateless.

“It is no secret that the Brexit referendum unleashed a wave of xenophobia: hate crimes spiked by almost a third in the year after the referendum, according to Home Office statistics. The victims were not just EU citizens, but also people of Asian, African and Caribbean heritage.”

People’s vote support (2019): Huq signed a January 2019 statement by Labour MPs calling for a “people’s vote” or second referendum. The statement, signed by 71 Labour MPs, read: “Defeat of the Tory [Brexit] deal in a public vote would give us all a chance to campaign for the anti-austerity policies and a Labour government that deals with the true causes of the Brexit vote, and a reformed Europe that works for all people.”

Remain pledge: During the 2019 general election campaign, Huq was one of 193 Labour candidates to sign the anti-Brexit “Remain pledge”, drawn up by the campaign group Remain Labour.

It stated: “Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU.”

Brexit trade deal: In December 2020, Huq was among the 37 Labour MPs to rebel against the leadership’s position on the EU (Future Relationship) Bill – which enabled the government to implement and ratify its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. Keir Starmer, the newly elected Labour leader, argued that while the trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government was “thin” and flawed, the only alternative at that late stage was a “no-deal” exit. To enforce the leadership’s position, a three-line whip was imposed. Huq abstained over the bill. One Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, voted against the bill.

Electoral reform

Fair elections APPG: Huq is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

Electoral reform amendment: In May 2026, Huq was one of over 70 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling on the government to establish a “national commission on electoral reform”. Tabled by Alex Sobel as chair of the fair elections APPG, the amendment aimed to force a rethink of the first past the post voting system.

At the time, Sobel described FPTP as “one of the biggest examples of a broken status quo in UK politics.” He invited colleagues to join this “common sense call to take a fresh look at how parliament is elected in modern Britain.”

Proportional representation bill: In December 2024, Huq voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Huq voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Huq 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).

Speaking during the bill’s report stage, Huq told the House that the “younger” her might have supported the bill.

She said: “Health inequality shapes life expectancy and outcomes – covid deaths illuminated that – but it is absent from the bill.

“A younger me would have been 100% behind this bill. I am very pro body autonomy when it comes to abortion, but 10 years of being an MP has exposed me to coercion, duress, the billionaire price of London property, and elder abuse.

“It is no coincidence that, like me, the majority of London MPs and of black and minority ethnic MPs oppose the bill.”

Foreign policy and security

Syria airstrikes (2015): Huq voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Palestine

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Huq was among 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the King’s Speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza – defying the instruction set out by the party’s frontbench. Labour had tabled its own motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict and ordered its representatives to support that stance.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Huq 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.

LFPME: Huq has been listed as a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME). The organisation’s stated aim is to promote peace and justice in the region through the application of international law and respect for human rights.

Before Politics

Born Rupa Asha Huq in Hammersmith, London, in 1972, she grew up in Ealing. She attended Notting Hill & Ealing High School, an independent school.

She studied political and social sciences and then law at Newnham College, Cambridge University, graduating in 1993. She completed a PhD in cultural studies at the University of East London in 1999. Her PhD thesis was on youth culture and the Asian diaspora.

Before entering parliament, Huq was a senior lecturer in sociology at Kingston University (from 2004). She previously lectured at the University of Manchester (from 1998).

She has written widely on youth culture, music, and identity politics for publications including the Guardian, New Statesman, Tribune, Progress magazine, and The Times Higher Education Supplement.

She authored the books Beyond Subculture: Pop, Youth and Identity in a Postcolonial World (2006); Making Sense of Suburbia Through Popular Culture (2013); On the Edge: The Contested Cultures of English Suburbia (2013); and Reading the Riot Act: Reflections on the 2011 urban disorders in England (2016).

Personal Life

Huq married in 2003 and had a son in 2004.

She speaks English, Bengali, French and Hindi.

Trivia

Huq’s younger sister is the former Blue Peter presenter, Konnie Huq. While lecturing in Manchester, she occasionally DJ’d under the name “Dr Huq”.

Dr Huq’s brother-in-law (Konnie Huq’s husband) is the satirist and screenwriter Charlie Brooker.