Yasmin Qureshi is the Labour MP for Bolton South and Walkden, having first been elected to parliament for the predecessor seat of Bolton South East at the 2010 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Qureshi won 15,093 votes, representing 40.9% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Julie Pattison, received 8,350 votes (22.6%), while the Workers Party candidate, Jack Khan, secured 4,673 votes (12.7%). Qureshi was duly elected with a majority of 6,743 votes.  

The Bolton South and Walkden constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, primarily from the abolished Bolton South East seat and parts of Worsley and Eccles South. It covers parts of Bolton and Salford in Greater Manchester.

Political Career

Qureshi serves as a trade envoy to Egypt (since January 2025) and Algeria (since January 2026). Appointed by the trade secretary, envoys are tasked with boosting British exports and attracting foreign investment. An envoy’s duties typically involve leading trade delegations, lobbying host governments on market access issues, and building relationships with overseas businesses.

Qureshi was appointed as a member of the United Kingdom delegation to the Nato parliamentary assembly (Nato PA) by the prime minister in November 2024. The delegation serves as a consultative link between the UK parliament and Nato. The assembly brings together legislators from all 32 member states to debate and provide oversight on security and defence policy. The party distribution of the delegation is intended to reflect the composition of the House of Commons.

Qureshi served as shadow minister for women and equalities from October 2022 until November 2023.

Qureshi resigned from the frontbench in November 2023 to vote in favour of a motion tabled by the Scottish National Party (SNP) 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.

In her resignation letter, addressed to Keir Starmer, Qureshi wrote: “As a country, we were united in revulsion and grief at the atrocities committed against Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7th October. There can be no justification for the massacre of 1,400 people and the subsequent hostages taken.

“The acts of Hamas cannot, however, justify what UN Secretary General Guterres described as ‘the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.’ I know from my own experience as a barrister and from working on UN efforts to rebuild Kosovo, that international law leaves no room for ambiguity. There are no circumstances in which collective punishment is permissible.

“The scale of the bloodshed is unprecedented. Over 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in a month.”

Qureshi added: “I have spent much of my working life as a barrister, speaking up for the marginalised and most vulnerable in our society. I will therefore return to the backbenches to advocate more freely for a ceasefire and stand up for the Labour values I have always believed in.”

Qureshi previously served on the shadow frontbench as the shadow minister for international development (2020-2021) and shadow minister for justice (2016-2020).

Qureshi was a member of the House of Commons justice committee (2010-2015 and 2024), the foreign affairs committee (2015-2016), the home affairs committee (2013-2015), and the political and constitutional reform committee (2011-2011).

Qureshi is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for dentistry and oral health, Maldives, obesity, Pakistan and Primodos.

Qureshi delivered her maiden speech on 26 May 2010 during a debate on foreign affairs and defence.

In it, she said: “Bolton has a proud past, but it also has a glorious future. Our team is in the premier league, and so are the people of Bolton South East. Bolton also has a magnificent town hall, a vibrant retail town centre, new developments as result of the past 13 years of record investment by previous Labour governments, pedestrian-friendly shopping streets, an acclaimed theatre and a new university.

“I will also be pressing hard and campaigning to ensure that Bolton council’s bid to obtain city status by 2012 will be approved by the Queen; Bolton certainly deserves it.”

She added: “I first came to the House of Commons to visit when I was about 15, with the then member of parliament for Watford, Tristan – now Lord – Garel-Jones. When I saw him in the House last week, I told him that I had come to the House at his invitation, and that I was now a Labour member.

“He said, ‘What did I do, to make you regress and join the Labour party?’ Well, he did nothing wrong; he was a wonderful member of parliament – but my politics, of course, lie with the Labour party.”

Before entering parliament, Qureshi unsuccessfully contested the Brent East constituency at the 2005 general election.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Qureshi 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 supported 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: Qureshi was one of 22 Labour who nominated Emily Thornberry 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.

Thornberry, then the shadow foreign secretary, was one of five candidates to reach the second stage of the contest. However, she was eliminated from the race on 15 February 2020 after failing to secure the required 33 nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) or three affiliated groups. This left Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Lisa Nandy as the three candidates on the final membership ballot.

Labour leadership 2015: Qureshi was one of 68 Labour MPs who nominated Andy Burnham for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was initially considered the frontrunner. He secured 68 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. He ultimately finished second in the contest with 19% of the vote, losing to Jeremy Corbyn in the first round.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Qureshi 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 Qureshi as a reliable supporter.

Labour leadership 2010: Qureshi was one of 81 Labour MPs who nominated David Miliband for the party’s leadership in May 2010. The election followed the resignation of Gordon Brown, who stepped down as prime minister and Labour leader after the 2010 general election.

Miliband, the former foreign secretary, was seen as closely aligned with the New Labour project – a Blairite figure. He secured 81 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 33 required to reach the final ballot, but was narrowly defeated by his brother, Ed Miliband, in the final round by 50.7% to 49.3%.

Factional identity and party tradition

Living standards coalition: Qureshi is a member of the living standards coalition. Established in July 2025, the group’s stated aim was to develop and promote policy ideas that directly reduce everyday costs for households, particularly in areas such as food, energy, housing and childcare. In an open letter published upon its founding, addressed to Keir Starmer, the MPs wrote: “Our constituents will ask one question at the next election: did this Labour government make me better off?”

They added: “To raise living standards, we support government interventions that will help to increase incomes and lower costs.”

Usdaw: Qureshi is a member of the Usdaw Union Parliamentary Group – a group of MPs who are members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and work generally to represent the union’s interests within parliament.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Qureshi supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of her constituents, 63% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Qureshi voted in favour of 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.

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Qureshi was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

Welfare vote (July 2025): Qureshi went on to abstain over the 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

Qureshi 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).

Foreign policy and security

IPAC: Qureshi is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – an international, cross-party network of legislators from democratic countries focused on relations with the People’s Republic of China. The alliance, established on 4 June 2020, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, was formed to unite “lawmakers worldwide, promoting democracy and addressing threats to the rules-based and human rights systems posed by the rise of China.”

Syria airstrikes (2015): Qureshi 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

LFPME: Qureshi 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.

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, Qureshi was one of 192 Labour MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Before Politics

Born Yasmin Qureshi in Gujrat, Pakistan on 5 July 1963, she moved to Britain aged nine. She grew up in Watford.  

She studied law at London South Bank University and later gained a master of laws from University College London. She was called to the Bar.  

She was a governor of Laurence Hains School from 1984 to 1987.

Qureshi worked as an in-house barrister for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). She later headed the criminal legal section (2000-2001) and was director of the Department of Judicial Administration for the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). In this latter role, she was responsible for ensuring that the courts, prosecutors and investigation judges’ offices were administered and monitored properly.

Qureshi served as human rights adviser to Ken Livingstone as mayor of London from 2004 to 2008, working on issues relating to economic and civil rights.

Personal Life

Qureshi is married to Nadeem Ashraf.

Qureshi was admitted to hospital with pneumonia after contracting Covid-19 in October 2020.  

In a statement at the time, Qureshi said: “Two weeks ago, I began to feel unwell. I then tested positive for COVID-19, so my family and I immediately self-isolated at home. I have not travelled to Westminster or anywhere else.

“I continued to work as best I could remotely, attending virtual meetings and doing casework, but after 10 days, I began to feel much worse and on Saturday I was admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital with pneumonia.”

“I’m being very well looked after and have nothing but praise and admiration for the wonderful staff at the hospital. They have been amazing throughout the process and I would like to extend my thanks to everyone working here in such difficult circumstances.”

Trivia

Qureshi was one of the first three female Muslim MPs elected to the UK parliament in 2010, alongside Rushanara Ali and Shabana Mahmood.