Shabana Mahmood

Shabana Mahmood (, born 17 September 1980) is a British politician and barrister who has been serving as Home Secretary since 2025. She previously served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2024 to 2025. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010. She has also served since September 2025 as chair of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee, the governing body of the party. Mahmood identifies as belonging to the more socially conservative Blue Labour faction of the Labour Party. In 2002 Mahmood graduated with a degree in law from Lincoln College, Oxford. She went on to complete the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law in 2003. As a barrister her specialism is professional indemnity. Her selection as the Labour Party candidate for Birmingham Ladywood for the 2010 general election caused some dissent in the constituency party, but was found by an inquiry led by a member of the National Executive Committee to be legitimate. She became one of the first female Muslim MPs, along with Rushanara Ali and Yasmin Qureshi. Between 2010 and 2024, while the Labour Party was the Official Opposition, she held various shadow frontbench positions, including Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 2013 to 2015. Following the 2015 general election Mahmood was promoted to the shadow cabinet and served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the interim shadow cabinet of Harriet Harman. Following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader, Mahmood resigned from the position and declined to serve in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. She supported Owen Smith in the attempt to replace Corbyn at the 2016 leadership election. After serving on the backbenches between 2015 and 2021, Mahmood returned to the shadow cabinet in the May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle under Keir Starmer as the National Campaign Coordinator. In his September 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle Starmer appointed Mahmood Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor. Following Labour's victory at the 2024 general election Mahmood was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in the Starmer ministry. She implemented an early release scheme for thousands of prisoners to reduce prison overcrowding. In the 2025 cabinet reshuffle, she was promoted to Home Secretary. During her tenure, Mahmood has restricted immigration to the United Kingdom, including for refugees and asylum seekers, changed settlement rules for long-term migrants with longer timescales and more conditions to be met, and made changes to rules for political protests.