Mohammad Yasin (; born 10 October 1971) is a

British-Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in t ...

politician serving as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member of

Bedford Borough Council Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the direc ...

from 2006 to 2019.

Early life

Yasin was born on 10 October 1971 in

Mirpur, Pakistan Mirpur ( phr, , translit=mirpur; ur, , translit=mīrpūr), officially known as New Mirpur City ( ur, , translit=shèhar nayā mīrpur), is the capital of Mirpur district located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the second largest city of Azad ...

. His father was a truck driver. He obtained a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree from Degree College Mirpur. Yasin moved to

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

at the age of 21. He reports that his first job on arrival was in a factory before becoming a taxi driver. While working at the factory, he became involved with trade unions, and joined the Labour Party. In 2006, he was elected as a councillor for Queen's Park ward in Bedford Borough Council. Yasin was re-elected in 2009 and 2015. Upon being elected to Parliament, he continued to serve as a Bedford Borough Councillor until the 2019 local elections where he stood down. He was the Portfolio Holder on the council for Adult Services.

Parliamentary career

Yasin was elected as MP for

in the 2017 general election with a majority of 789 (1.6%) votes. It was previously represented in parliament by Conservative Richard Fuller since 2010. In March 2018, Yasin received a suspicious package containing an

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

letter and sticky liquid. The substance was later found to be harmless. Similar packages were received by fellow Muslim Labour MPs

Rushanara Ali Rushanara Ali ( bn, রুশনারা আলী; born 14 March 1975) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bethnal Green and Bow since 2010. She served as a Shadow Minister for International D ...

, Afzal Khan and

Rupa Huq Rupa Asha Huq ( bn, রাবেয়া "রূপা" আশা হক; born 2 April 1972) is a British Independent MP, columnist and academic. Elected as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Ealing Central and Acton at the 2015 genera ...

. Yasin supported the UK remaining within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

(EU) in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum. In the indicative votes on 27 March 2019, Yasin voted for a referendum on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, for the

Norway-plus model In British politics, the "Norway-plus model" was a proposal for a post-Brexit settlement, which the British government did not pursue. Proposed in November 2018 as an alternative to the Chequers plan, it would have consisted of membership of the E ...

, and for a customs union with the EU. Since May 2019, Yasin has sat on the

Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (formerly the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine ...

. In the 2019 general election, Yasin was re-elected as MP for Bedford. He defeated his closest Conservative challenger, Ryan Henson, by a margin of 145 votes (0.3%), making Bedford the most marginal Labour seat in the country.

Personal life

Yasin is married and is the father of four children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yasin, Mohammad 1971 births Living people Councillors in Bedfordshire English people of Mirpuri descent Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present