Green party MEP never intended to fit the mould and hopes his election sends a message to nationalists across the EU

Magid Magid: 'If you try to be everyone’s cup of tea you might as well be a mug'

Magid Magid: 'If you try to be everyone’s cup of tea you might as well be a mug'

It’s a long way from the Glastonbury stage to the European parliament chamber in Strasbourg. Magid Magid, one of Britain’s newest MEPs, is probably the only politician who has appeared at both venues this week.

Magid, one of six MEPs for Yorkshire and the Humber, is not a typical politician. He is a black Muslim in a parliament where minority ethnic politicians have long been underrepresented. Nor does he bother with the typical male political uniform of suit and tie. He arrived for work in Strasbourg on Tuesday wearing green Dr Martens boots, Bermuda shorts, a yellow baseball cap worn backwards and a black T-shirt with the slogan “F**k Fascism”. His fluorescent Glastonbury band was still tied to his wrist. He had been at the festival speaking at an event on tackling racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism.

Before his first day in Strasbourg was out, Magid was making headlines, after saying he had been asked to leave the parliament.

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The incident occurred as he left the Strasbourg debating chamber after the opening ceremony featuring Beethoven’s Ode to Joy on Tuesday. Magid claimed he encountered “someone in a suit” who asked him if he was lost. He did not think the person was trying to be helpful.

“He was being 100% sarcastic,” Magid tells the Guardian. “And then we had an altercation, because I instantly went on the defensive … And he said ‘you need to leave’. And I said ‘why do I need to leave?’ I said ‘I am an MEP’ and they kind of just smirked and walked off.”

The European parliament’s head of press said she had immediately investigated when Magid’s tweet came to her attention. “We can therefore safely say that no member of staff addressed Mr Magid in an inappropriate way.”

Magid says he did not know who the man was, but confirmed it was not a European parliament usher in tailcoats or a security guard in a uniform.

For him the incident shows: “We have all been socially conditioned to think what a politician or a MEP is meant to look like. And I completely get it. I don’t fit that mould and it’s never been my intention to fit that mould.”

According to the European Network Against Racism, 4% of the parliament’s new intake of 751 MEPs are black, Asian and minority ethnic.

The 30-year old Green party MEP, who came to Britain as a refugee from Somalia, has been breaking the mould ever since he went into politics, becoming Sheffield’s lord mayor in 2018.

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Magid believes his election to the European parliament, on the slogan “immigrants make Britain great”, sends a message to nationalists across the continent, such as Italy’s far-right party leader, Matteo Salvini, or the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán. “I epitomise everything that they stand against. Me being here does send a strong message to your Salvinis, to your Orbáns,” he says.

While he has joined the European parliament’s home affairs and culture committees, his main focus will be at home. He is planning a regional tour to rally support ahead of a potential referendum. “If we did have a people’s vote, I don’t think we are as ready as we could be in all honesty.” He hopes to reach groups established political parties can struggle to reach. “I feel I can tap into a different demographic … whether that can be first-time voters or young people.”

He also wants to talk to people who voted to leave, saying he understands why people wanted change. “There was no job security, long waiting times to see a doctor, not enough school places, [difficulties] getting onto the housing ladder.”

While a referendum is far from guaranteed, Magid argues voters should be offered a straight choice between remain and no deal.

That will be seen as a risky choice. The EU argues that the UK would have to return to a version of the withdrawal agreement, if it wants a trading relationship with the EU, even after a no-deal Brexit.

Asked about that scenario and potential voter backlash, Magid acknowledges the uncertainty. “Eventually we will have to make deals, because you need trade. That may look like Theresa May’s deal. That may not look like Theresa May’s deal. And honestly I have absolutely no idea what that [final result] would look like.”

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But he thinks he can tap into indifference and the lack of knowledge about British representation in the European Union. He recalls a campaign event at the University of Sheffield where “not a single person could name their MEP” or any benefits that came from the EU, “even in areas of Yorkshire where they had ridiculous amounts of money that had transformed their communities”.

Magid studied aquatic zoology, ran a digital marketing business and worked for the homelessness charity Shelter before getting involved in politics, motivated by the rise of Ukip in the 2014 European elections.

Within four years, he was being sworn in as lord mayor of Sheffield to the tune of the Imperial March from Star Wars and the Superman theme tune, as the Sheffield Star reported. He later made headlines by stating he would ban “wasteman” Donald Trump from the city – a measure not within his powers.

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His one-year tenure was not uncontroversial and he chafed at what he describes as the local council’s attempts to control his diary and messaging. “They wanted to control every aspect of everything especially when they realised the amount of engagement and traction I was getting.”

The new MEP does not resile from “unapologetically being myself”, saying: “if you are trying to be everyone’s cup of tea you might as well be a mug”.