Bethnal Green and Stepney: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Rushanara Ali (Labour) is the MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, elected at the general election of 4 July 2024. Rushanara Ali took the seat for Labour in July 2024 with 15,896 votes (34.1%), ahead of Ajmal Masroor (Independent) on 14,207. 46,647 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 81,439, 57.3% of those registered. The majority was 1,689.
Key figures
What the figures show
Two figures set Bethnal Green and Stepney apart: the highest population density (2021) of the 575 constituencies with this figure (18,597.9 per sq km), and the 3rd highest share of children in low income families after housing costs of the 650 constituencies with this figure (55.8%).
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 134,660; the estimate for 2014 was 119,565. 8,519 were aged 65 or over and 22,712 were under 16.
12,680 children in Bethnal Green and Stepney were in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, the Department for Work and Pensions estimates: 55.8% of under-16s, where the UK share is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 29.1% in 2021/22 to 31.9% in 2024/25.
Workplaces in Bethnal Green and Stepney accounted for 139,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 9,655 local units for March 2026.
Full-time employees living in Bethnal Green and Stepney had median pay of £48,233 a year in April 2025; for jobs based in the constituency the median was £55,972. In April 2024 the residents' figure was £43,240. The residents' figure ranks 49th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £483,750 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £490,000. The highest March-year median in the series was £590,000, in the year to March 2020. It ranks 75th highest of 575 constituencies. 576 sales were registered in the period, against 846 in the year to March 2025.
69.2% of residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, on the Annual Population Survey estimate (95% confidence interval ±8.3 points). 26.4% were economically inactive.
Census 2021: 46,156 households, 18,597.9 people per square kilometre, 46.0% of workers based at home, 6.1% of adults retired.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 7,725 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 7.5%. That is up from 7,665 twelve months before.
MP
Rushanara Ali, Labour
- MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 6 May 2010
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Rushanara Ali on this site
In Parliament
What Rushanara Ali said most recently in Parliament, word for word from Hansard (from 1 July 2026 to 14 September 2026). Hansard search returns 218 spoken contributions by Rushanara Ali since 4 July 2024.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) on securing this important Adjournment debate. She represented Cable Street until the last general election, and I am very proud to represent it now. She and I have much in common.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank the Foreign Secretary for his incredibly moving and courageous statement. He has been a friend of Israelis and Palestinians.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) on her appointment as the Minister for Democracy. I thank her predecessor, my hon.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I commend my hon. Friend for the work that she has done, and for accepting the recommendations of the Rycroft review. Can she clarify whether consideration was given to an outright ban on crypto donations, as opposed to a moratorium?
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The E1 settlement expansion programme is clearly designed to undermine a Palestinian state, despite this Government, for the first time in our history, recognising Palestinian statehood. Will my hon.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 26 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushanara Ali | Labour | 15,896 | 34.1% | −39.4 |
| Ajmal Masroor | Independent | 14,207 | 30.5% | |
| Phoebe Gill | Green Party | 6,391 | 13.7% | +9.5 |
| Rabina Khan | Liberal Democrat | 4,777 | 10.2% | +1.0 |
| Peter Sceats | Reform UK | 1,964 | 4.2% | +2.2 |
| Oscar Reaney | Conservative | 1,920 | 4.1% | −6.0 |
| Vanessa Hudson | Animal Welfare Party | 348 | 0.7% | −0.1 |
| Sham Uddin | Independent | 325 | 0.7% | |
| Md Somon Ahmed | Independent | 315 | 0.7% | |
| Reggie Adams | Independent | 271 | 0.6% | |
| Jon Mabbutt | Social Democratic Party | 233 | 0.5% |
Result summary as published: Lab hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Labour 34.1% | Independent 30.5% | 1,689 | 57.3% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Labour 73.5% | Conservative 10.1% | 31,655 | 64.9% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Bethnal Green and Stepney lies within Tower Hamlets.
- Tower Hamlets E09000030
Who has power over Bethnal Green and Stepney
Every body that makes decisions for Bethnal Green and Stepney, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- Greater London Authority Greater London Authority
- Metropolitan Police Service police force
- Barts Health NHS Trust NHS
- NHS North East London Integrated Care Board NHS
- London in official figures
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Bethnal Green and Stepney this page: Rushanara Ali (Labour) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | mid-2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median house price | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Homes sold | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Households | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents per square kilometre | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Workers mainly working from home | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents aged 16+ who are retired | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney?
Rushanara Ali (Labour), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Bethnal Green and Stepney?
The House of Commons Library records 15,896 votes for Rushanara Ali of Labour and a majority of 1,689; 57.3% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Bethnal Green and Stepney?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 7,725, 7.5% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Bethnal Green and Stepney?
£483,750: the middle price of homes sold in the year to March 2026, published by the ONS from Land Registry records.
What is the average salary in Bethnal Green and Stepney?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £48,233 (April 2025).
How many children in Bethnal Green and Stepney live in low income families?
12,680 children under 16, 55.8%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Bethnal Green and Stepney?
134,660 in mid-2024, the latest ONS estimate.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.