Mohammad Yasin (politician)
{{Short description|British Labour Party politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Mohammad Yasin
| honorific-suffix = MP
| image = Official portrait of Mohammad Yasin MP crop 2.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2020
| office = Member of Parliament
for Bedford
| term_start = 8 June 2017
| term_end =
| predecessor = Richard Fuller
| majority = 9,430 (23.2%)
| office1 = Member of Bedford Borough Council
for Queens Park
| term_start1 = 4 May 2006
| term_end1 = 2 May 2019
| predecessor1 = Frank Garrick
| successor1 = Nesreen Akhtar
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|10|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
| party = Labour
| website = {{Official website|https://mohammadyasin.org/}}
}}
Mohammad Yasin ({{Langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|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 and personal life
Yasin was born on 10 October 1971 in Mirpur, Pakistan.{{cite book|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-289523|title=Yasin, Mohammad|accessdate=4 November 2019|publisher=A & C Black|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U289523|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/244407-Mohammad-Yasin-MP-From-driving-taxi-to-BritishParliament|title=Mohammad Yasin MP: From driving taxi to British Parliament|last=Shah|first=Murtaza Ali|date=15 November 2017|accessdate=4 November 2019|work=The News International}} Yasin is married and is the father of four children.{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2017-07-13/debates/69871535-88DE-4EF8-AE0C-9653C8E1B045/Passchendaele#contribution-B4D4A642-B711-4DA3-8F35-956D07A274B0|publisher=Hansard|title=Passchendaele|date=13 July 2017|accessdate=4 November 2019}}
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.{{cite web|url=https://bbcdevwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/webfiles/Your%20Council/Local%20Election%20Results%204%20May%202006.pdf|title=Local Election Results 4 May 2006|accessdate=4 November 2019|publisher=Bedford Borough Council|page=4}}{{cite web|url=https://bbcdevwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/webfiles/Your%20Council/Elections%20and%20Voting/Declarations%20of%20Results%20of%20Poll%20-%204%20June%202009.PDF|publisher=Bedford Borough Council|accessdate=4 November 2019|title=Local Election Results 4 June 2009|page=4}}{{cite web|url=https://bbcdevwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/webfiles/Your%20Council/Borough%20elections%202015.pdf|title=Borough Elections 2015|accessdate=4 November 2019|page=16|publisher=Bedford Borough Council}} He was the Portfolio Holder on the council for Adult Services.{{cite web|url=https://eastlibdems.org.uk/en/article/2017/1218917/thanks-and-congratulations-as-cllr-yasin-steps-down-from-cabinet-role|publisher=East of England Liberal Democrats|date=20 June 2017|accessdate=4 November 2019|title=Thanks and Congratulations as Cllr Yasin Steps Down from Cabinet Role}}
Parliamentary career
Yasin was elected as MP for Bedford in the 2017 general election with a majority of 789 (1.6%) votes.{{cite web|url=https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2017-06-08/Results/Location/Constituency/Bedford|publisher=parliament.uk|title=Bedford|accessdate=4 November 2019}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43387152|title=Third MP gets Islamophobic letter|publisher=BBC News|date=13 March 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}{{cite news |last=Elgot|first=Jessica|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/13/police-investigate-new-suspicious-package-sent-mp-rupa-huq-westminster|title=Four Muslim MPs receive suspicious packages at Westminster|newspaper=The Guardian|date=13 March 2018 |accessdate=2 April 2018}}
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.{{cite news|url=https://ig.ft.com/brexit-exit-deal-vote/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902092554/https://ig.ft.com/brexit-exit-deal-vote/|archivedate=2 September 2019|date=29 March 2019|title=How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat|work=Financial Times}}
Since May 2019, Yasin has sat on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee.{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/mohammad-yasin/4598|publisher=parliament.uk|accessdate=4 November 2019|title=Mohammad Yasin MP}}
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-held seat in the United Kingdom that election.{{cite news |title=Bedford Parliamentary constituency |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000552 |work=BBC News |date = December 2019|access-date=25 May 2021}} In 2024 Yasin was reelected with an increased majority of almost 10,000.{{Cite news |title=Bedford - General election results 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001084 |access-date=2024-08-07 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- {{UK MP links |parliament=mohammad-yasin/4598 |publicwhip=Mohammad_Yasin |theywork=mohammad_yasin}}
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{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Richard Fuller}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Bedford|years=2017–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}{{Labour Party UK MPs}}{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasin, Mohammad}}
Category:Councillors in Bedfordshire
Category:English people of Mirpuri descent
Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors
Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom