Mohammad Yasin (politician)

Yasin was born on 10 October 1971 in Mirpur, Pakistan. 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. 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 Bedford 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 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. 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. 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==