Rosena Allin-Khan

Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan  is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting since 17 June 2016. Following the vacancy caused by the resignation of sitting Labour MP Sadiq Khan after his election in May 2016 as the Mayor of London, she held the seat at the 2016 by-election. Allin-Khan was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Sport in October 2016.

Early life and education
Allin-Khan was born in Tooting. Her Polish mother had been a singer in the Polish girl group Filipinki, who met her father, originally from Pakistan, while the band was on tour in London. The couple separated after having two children, and Allin-Khan's mother worked three jobs to support Rosena and her brother.

She was educated at Trinity St Mary School, a local comprehensive. She wanted to be a doctor, but could not afford to attend medical school, so she took a degree in medical biochemistry at Brunel University in London, funding her education through a series of part-time jobs.

After further studies funded by scholarships, she was accepted at the age of 24 to study Medicine at Cambridge University.

Medical career
After qualifying as a doctor, Allin-Khan worked at the Royal London and Homerton Hospitals.

She went on to complete a Master's degree in Public Health specialising in Global Health and Emergency Humanitarian Assistance. Following this, she spent many years working as a Humanitarian Aid Doctor in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. She also worked in rural Australia as an emergency flying doctor.

Prior to her election to the House of Commons, she worked as a junior doctor in the accident and emergency department at St George's Hospital in Tooting.

Political career
Allin-Khan is a councillor on Wandsworth Council for Bedford ward in Balham, and previously served as deputy leader of the Council's Labour group.

Allin-Khan was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Tooting constituency, after the seat was made vacant in May 2016 when the sitting MP, Sadiq Khan (no relation), resigned when he won that year's London mayoral election. Allin-Khan won her seat in the House of Commons with a swing of 7.3% from the Conservatives, after a campaign which emphasised her working-class roots and Polish-Pakistani heritage. When the election results were announced in the early hours of 17 June, Allin-Khan dropped her planned victory speech; in its place she read a tribute to Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen who had been brutally murdered on 16 June, the day of the by-election.

On 9 October 2016, Allin-Khan was appointed Shadow Minister for Sport. In that capacity, she was the Labour Party spokesperson for issues including the protection of young people from sexual exploitation in sport, and has spoken out against homophobia in sport.

Allin-Khan retained the Tooting seat in the 2017 snap election, with an increased majority of 15,458 votes.

Personal life
Allin-Khan lives in Tooting with her Welsh husband. She is a Muslim, and her husband has converted to Islam. The couple have two daughters, who are being raised as Muslims.

She is an amateur boxer, training at Balham Boxing Club, where she is also the team doctor.