Mohammed Afzal Khan, CBE (Urdu: محمد افضل خان; born 5 April 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Manchester Gorton constituency since June 2017.
He was formerly Lord Mayor of Manchester for the year 2005–2006, and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2014 to 2017.
Early life
Khan was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 11. After leaving school without qualifications, he had a number of jobs, including as a Greater Manchester Police constable, before returning to education and qualifying as a solicitor: He is now a partner of solicitors Mellor & Jackson in Oldham.
Political career
Local government
Khan was first elected a Labour Councillor in 2000, being re-elected in 2004, 2007 and 2011, representing Cheetham Ward.
He served as Executive Member for Children’s Services.
Khan became the first Muslim Lord Mayor of Manchester, taking the position for 2005–2006.
In 2010, Khan was appointed CBE for his race relations work.
In 2011, Khan was suggested as a candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth. In 2012, he was a potential candidate for the Bradford West by-election but lost the nomination to Imran Hussain, who was defeated by Respect Party candidate, George Galloway.
European Parliament
Khan was selected in February 2013 on the Labour Party’s list for North West England at the European Parliamentary election of 2014 and, on 22 May 2014, he was returned as MEP to the European Parliament to represent North West England.
In January 2016, Khan was appointed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament as Special Representative to Muslim Communities. In this function, Khan visited Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Denmark for work with local Muslim communities and invited groups of young Muslims to the Parliament.
