Mohammad Yasin (; born 10 October 1971) is a

British-Pakistani British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakist ...

politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

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, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The town of Bedford was a borough from at least the 12th century until 1974, when the moder ...

from 2006 to 2019.

Early and personal life

Yasin was born on 10 October 1971 in

Mirpur, Pakistan Mirpur ( ; ), officially known as New Mirpur City (), is the capital of Mirpur district located in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir ...

. His father was a truck driver. He obtained a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

degree from Degree College Mirpur. Yasin moved to

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

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. Yasin is married and is the father of four children. 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 irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

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 (; born 14 March 1975) is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Rough Sleeping since July 2024. A member of the Labour Par ...

, Afzal Khan and Rupa Huq. 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(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. Since May 2019, Yasin has sat on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. 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. In 2024 Yasin was reelected with an increased majority of almost 10,000.

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 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present