Who is Zarah Sultana? Labour MP is a new voice of the left and has largest TikTok following in Commons
Zarah Sultana may be a Labour backbencher in her first term in office but the MP for Coventry South has been anything but quiet.
Aged 30 and one of the youngest members of Parliament, she carries the twin distinction of being the most followed British politician on TikTok and also the most abused online.
She told Elle UK: "I’m a woman, I’m young, I’m Muslim, I’m left wing. When people attack me, it’s usually for one – or all – of those reasons.”
Despite not holding any office beyond her role as an MP, which she has had since 2019, Ms Sultana was subject to the most abuse of any MP in 2023, 68 per cent more than the next.
The situation has led to her needing to record the time and location on constituency visits as well as beefing up her security.
Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, in front of her portrait at the Creative Connections exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry, which features portraits of celebrated cultural and political figures who were born in or are associated with the city of Coventry (PA)
“I was sent [a message saying] send that bitch to Palestine because they are low on targets,” she told Sky in March.
“It weighs heavily,” she added of the abuse. “It is difficult but I remind myself why I got involved in politics in the first place.
“I’m reminded of all these values that I have that are held by millions of others across the country.”
These values have seen her placed on the left side of Labour and she is additionally co-chair of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs.
During their first term, new MPs can often focus on settling in but Sultana has been vocal in the Commons, delivering speeches on issues that matter to her. These include ending child hunger, stopping gas licences in favour of a Green New Deal, free healthcare, and providing better pay to rail workers to end strikes.
She shares her Commons speeches and talks at events, rallies and marches on TikTok, where she has 445,000 followers. By comparison, Rishi Sunak has 13,000 followers, while accounts for Labour and the Conservative party have shared one video between them.
The Birmingham native’s outspokenness has made her a target for abuse and thanks to her interaction online (unlike many MPs, she also has active Twitter, YouTube and Instagram pages) she can also come into the firing line for trolls.
One of her biggest campaigns in recent times has been for a ceasefire in Israel, with arms sales banned and Israeli officials held to account for war crimes.
“Behind every horrifying statistic you hear are hopes and dreams,” she said in Parliament.
“Palestinian lives matter just as much as anyone else’s.”
One of four sisters raised in Birmingham to Islamic parents of Pakistani ancestry, Sultana joined the Labour party while an A-level student back in 2011.
Her initial move was borne out of frustration with the Conservative party voting to raise tuition fees for university students. But she has become determined to expose David Cameron, the now foreign secretary, over his response to Israeli strikes.
She told the BBC that Lord Cameron had said in April that Israel was not breaching international humanitarian law. But this judgement was not made to take into account the deaths of three British aid workers, due to a bureaucratic time lag.
She said: “It is quite extraordinary that, when he made his decisions, any violations for the last three months could not be taken into account. They’ve invented this sort of bureaucratic system whereby, if some piece of evidence hasn’t been evaluated fully, it can’t be included in the advice.”
The Socialist Campaign Group contains members of the last Labour leadership, including Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, and Rebecca Long Bailey. Thus, the company she keeps and her views on Israel might put her at odds with current party leader Sir Keir Starmer and she would be unlikely to be in the Cabinet should Labour win the next election.
On the picket line with Jeremy Corbyn in 2022 (PA)
Sultana took Coventry South by only 400 votes in 2019 but will be hopeful her community work will pay off with victory at the ballot box.
A fan of brightly coloured suit jackets and Liverpool FC, Sultana is a practising Muslim but has been known to mark other religious festivals. Her faith, she said, has been a magnet for abuse.
"Before being elected, I was nervous about being a Muslim woman in the public eye,” she told the BBC.
"Growing up, I had seen the abuse prominent British Muslims were subjected to – I knew I wouldn't be in for an easy ride.
"And today, I would like to say I was wrong to be worried when young Muslim girls ask me what it's like.
"I would like to say, 'There is nothing to worry about', that they would face the same challenges as their non-Muslim friends and colleagues, but I cannot say that because in my short time in Parliament that is not my experience.
"I can't be silent about Islamophobia.”
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