Anwara Ali

Anwara Ali (born 15 September 1970) is a British politician, Conservative Party councillor in Regent's Park, Cabinet member for health and well-being in Tower Hamlets and General practitioner in Spitalfields Practice.

Early life

Ali is daughter of Late Alhaj Jobed Ali and Solima Khatun, of Sunampur, Golapganj, Sylhet. She came to the United Kingdom as a young child where she was educated. Her elder brother Siraj Uddin and sister Shanara Begum also reside in the United Kingdom.

In 1997, Ali graduated with MBBS from St. Bartholomew’s and Royal London Medical School.

Career

Ali is local government councillor and lead member for Adult Health and Wellbeing (LBTH). She initially entered politics as a Labour Party candidate in the 2006 local elections. She won the Bow West seat despite only entering the election race 8 weeks before the polling date. She defeated Janet Ludlow, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader in Tower Hamlets, in a seat that had been under the control of the Liberal Democrats for thirty years. Ali and her colleagues achieved the biggest swing (15.6%) to Labour in the whole of London. In 2007, Ali campaigned for Harriet Harman to become deputy leader of the Labour Party, and Harman won. In February 2010, due to Labour’s failure to reform the NHS Ali defected to the Conservative Party.

Ali is a GP Principal and Partner at Spitalfields Practice in London. She also work’s for Tower Hamlets Primary Trust as the Lead GP for screening. She was chosen to front the NHS campaign locally to persuade Bengali-speaking women to sign up to breast screening programmes.

Ali is serving on the Governments ‘Woman Councillors Task Force,’ which was launched in Admiralty House in Whitehall. She is a patron of the Bow Community Association, as well as a founding member of the award-winning Social Action for Health. She also helped to establish the Nisa Association.

She is a presenter on Channel S’s Health is Wealth programme, which discusses topical health issues and how to reduce health inequalities, especially in the Bangladeshi community. Ali was asked by Tower Hamlets Health Authority to present a series of programme’s entitled Communities in Action.

Ali is also a columnist for both Bangla Mirror and the East London Advertiser.

Personal life

Ali is married to Reza Ahmed Faisol Choudhury and they have son, Obaid Reza Jaami Al-Choudhury.

See also

• British Bangladeshi
• List of British Bangladeshis
• List of ethnic minority British politicians

External links

• Tower Hamlets Labour councillor defects to the Conservatives. Local Government. 23 February 2010
• Dr Anwara Ali - British Bangladeshi Who’s Who 2008