Labour MP Criticised for Keeping Council Flat While Pushing Housing Reform
A Labour MP who has repeatedly warned of London’s worsening housing shortage continues to live in a council flat, despite previously acknowledging she may no longer need it.
Labour MP
Apsana Begum, the MP for Poplar and Limehouse, earns just under £94,000 a year and has spoken frequently about homelessness, unaffordable rents, and the lack of social housing in the capital. However, it has emerged that she remains in a council property in Tower Hamlets, one of the boroughs with the longest waiting lists for social housing.
Ms Begum is not in breach of any housing rules. Tower Hamlets Council restricts applications for council housing from individuals or couples earning more than £90,000, but once a property has been allocated, occupants’ salaries are not routinely reassessed.
The issue has nevertheless prompted political criticism, with the Conservatives accusing the MP of hypocrisy.
Conservative criticism
The Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said Ms Begum’s position was difficult to justify given the pressure on social housing in the borough.
“Apsana Begum’s hypocrisy is staggering,” he said. “She has spoken extensively about the need for more council housing while continuing to occupy a council flat herself, despite earning more than three times the average wage.
“Thousands of people are waiting years for a council home in Tower Hamlets, yet she remains in a property that even she has admitted she probably does not need.”
Past comments on her housing
In an interview with The Guardian in August 2021, Ms Begum reflected on her circumstances following her election to Parliament.
“I am probably in a much better position now than I was when I first contacted the council for support,” she said at the time. “It is something I am thinking about, whether it is something I still need. It is probably not something that I need.”
That interview followed her acquittal at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where she had faced charges of dishonestly applying for council housing between 2013 and 2016. A jury found her not guilty on all counts.
After the trial, Ms Begum said she had endured months of sexist and racist abuse online, describing the allegations as vexatious. Tower Hamlets Council, which brought the prosecution, said it had a duty to investigate the claims.
Housing advocacy in Parliament
Ms Begum has been a vocal critic of housing policy in Parliament. During a Commons debate last November, she described what she called a deepening housing crisis across London.
“Londoners and my constituents have been priced out,” she said, citing gentrification, a shortage of genuinely affordable homes, rising rents, and poor quality housing. She blamed what she described as the legacy of the previous Conservative government and former London mayor Boris Johnson.
She concluded by calling for a large scale programme of social and council house building, saying housing should be treated as a fundamental right.
Pressure on housing in Tower Hamlets
Tower Hamlets is widely regarded as one of London’s most pressured housing markets. According to the Centre for London think tank, it is the capital’s most densely populated borough and has some of the longest waiting times for social housing.
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Applicants for a one bedroom council property face an average wait of more than 2,000 days. The council says around 19,000 people are currently on its housing register, warning that most applicants will never be offered a tenancy.
Private rents in the borough are often far higher than council or housing association rents and frequently exceed the level covered by housing benefit.
A council spokesperson said: “Our allocations scheme restricts applicants with a sole or joint income of £90,000 or more from joining the housing register. Once a person is housed through the register, it is not our policy to review their salary.”
Labour background
Ms Begum, who sits on the left of the Labour Party, was first elected in 2019. She was suspended from the party in 2024 after voting against the government over the two child benefit cap, before being readmitted last September.
Dr Charlotte Proudman, a barrister and founder of Proudmans Law Firm, defended Ms Begum, saying renewed scrutiny of her housing amounted to harassment.
“She was acquitted after a vexatious trial in 2021 and no wrongdoing was found,” Dr Proudman said. “This continued focus reflects the unjust treatment she has endured as a survivor of domestic abuse and as the first hijab wearing MP.”
The debate has reignited wider questions over eligibility, fairness, and accountability in Britain’s social housing system, particularly in areas facing acute shortages.
