Mohammad Yasin
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Bedford
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byRichard Fuller
Majority145 (0.3%)
Member of Bedford Borough Council
for Queens Park
In office
4 May 2006 – 2 May 2019
Preceded byFrank Garrick
Succeeded byNesreen Akhtar
Personal details
Born (1971-10-15) 15 October 1971
Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, Kashmir
Political partyLabour
Websitemohammadyasin.org

Mohammad Yasin (Urdu: محمد یاسین; born 10 October 1971) is a British-Pakistani politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedford since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member of Bedford Borough Council from 2006 to 2019.

Early life

Yasin was born on 10 October 1971 in Mirpur, Pakistan.[1] His father was a truck driver. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Degree College Mirpur. Yasin moved to Bedford, Bedfordshire 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.[2]

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.[3][4][5] He was the Portfolio Holder on the council for Adult Services.[6]

Parliamentary career

Yasin was elected as MP for Bedford in the 2017 general election with a majority of 789 (1.6%) votes.[7] It was previously represented in parliament by Conservative Richard Fuller since 2010. In March 2018, Yasin received a suspicious package containing an Islamophobic letter and sticky liquid. The substance was later found to be harmless. Similar packages were received by fellow Muslim Labour MPs Rushanara Ali, Afzal Khan and Rupa Huq.[8][9]

Yasin supported the UK remaining within the European Union (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, and for a customs union with the EU.[10]

Since May 2019, Yasin has sat on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee.[11]

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.[12]

Personal life

Yasin is married and is the father of four children. [13]

References

  1. ↑ Yasin, Mohammad. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U289523. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  2. ↑ Shah, Murtaza Ali (15 November 2017). "Mohammad Yasin MP: From driving taxi to British Parliament". The News International. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. ↑ "Local Election Results 4 May 2006" (PDF). Bedford Borough Council. p. 4. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  4. ↑ "Local Election Results 4 June 2009" (PDF). Bedford Borough Council. p. 4. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. ↑ "Borough Elections 2015" (PDF). Bedford Borough Council. p. 16. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Thanks and Congratulations as Cllr Yasin Steps Down from Cabinet Role". East of England Liberal Democrats. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "Bedford". parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "Third MP gets Islamophobic letter". BBC News. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ↑ Elgot, Jessica (13 March 2018). "Four Muslim MPs receive suspicious packages at Westminster". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat". Financial Times. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019.
  11. ↑ "Mohammad Yasin MP". parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  12. ↑ "Bedford Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "Passchendaele". Hansard. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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