A Labor MP has announced that she is stepping down due to the tension caused by what she called “misogynistic abuse and harassment” in connection with efforts to get her to seek a formal re-election to her seat.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse in East London since 2019, said she had been forced to go to hospital on June 12 and had since been discharged by a GP.
He said his office staff would continue with the constituency work, adding, “We’ll see you all once it’s better.”
He wrote: “During my time as a Member of Parliament I have been subjected to a sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse and harassment.” This had been “especially painful and difficult” as she is a survivor of domestic abuse, Begum added.
“This abusive campaign has had a significant effect on my mental and physical health,” he said.
It meant he could no longer participate in an active voting process: a labor procedure in which local parties and affiliated groups decide whether an incumbent MP should run in the next general election by default, or whether the constituency should have a complete reselection process. .
According to reports, the push for an active vote in Poplar and Limehouse has seen local members complain at party headquarters about how it has been conducted, with complaints of interruption and intimidation and harassment of women. .
In his statement, Begum made it clear that he believed the party could have done more to help her: “I am very concerned about the broader circumstances surrounding the active voting process.
“This has included allegations of alleged infringement and alleged misogyny. It is vital that the party properly investigate these allegations and take appropriate action.
“If the Labor Party is to be the party of equality, it must do everything possible to ensure that such behavior is never tolerated.”
Begum’s previous experience of domestic abuse arose when she was acquitted last year of fraud for hiding information about her circumstances to obtain social housing.
Tower Hamlets City Council said Begum had not notified him when he moved in with his partner. The deputy said he had notified the council for municipal tax purposes, that he was in a difficult personal period for family reasons and that his “controlling and coercive” partner Ehtashamul Haque had taken over his affairs.
In a statement after his acquittal, Begum said the case had caused him great distress.