Ali's family moved to Newcastle in 2001 when Ali was a teenager. He quickly came to call Newcastle his home. This is the place that Ali truly deems as his hometown, which is evidenced by his support of Newcastle United, a club where he is a season ticket holder. His passion for football has driven him to become an FA qualified referee. Ali is a keen squash player, enjoys swimming and helps to promote sport for the young and old alike.
Ali attended St Mary's Comprehensive School in Longbenton and then went on to study a master's degree in pharmacy at Sunderland University. Soon after this, he started his career as a pharmacist and is now the area manager for an independent chain of pharmacies in the North East of England. Ali is based in a pharmacy in Newcastle's West End, where he draws on his passions to help the local community. Ali is a registered Dementia Friend and helps the pharmacy and other local businesses to be friendly and accessible to disabled people. Ali believes that mental health is a very important but often a neglected issue today and must receive more attention from Health & Social Services.
Ali believes strongly in intermediate health and social care, close to people's homes. Ali oversees a project that provides pharmaceutical care for people who have been discharged from hospital, aiding their return home as quickly as possible.
Ali feels that one of the biggest threats in modern society comes from environmental issues and helps to combat this by campaigning for recycling, reducing waste and cutting energy consumption across the community.
In 2007, Ali joined the Liberal Democrats and in May 2019 was elected as councillor for Castle Ward in Newcastle upon Tyne. When joining the Liberal Democrats, the key issue for Ali was the Liberal Democrats opposition to the Iraq war. At a time that both Labour and Tories led the United Kingdom into a lengthy, devastating and unnecessary conflict, the Liberal Democrats were the only main political party standing for reason and common sense. Labour took the UK into a costly war and Tories created the Brexit mess. The clear choice to avoid such catastrophes in future is the measured Liberal and centrist approach. Ali hopes that becoming an MP will enable him to play a significant role in tackling the climate emergency we are facing. Ali is a strong campaigner for diversity and equality and has served as the Liberal Democrats equality officer for Newcastle upon Tyne.