Introduction
James Bruce Carver (born 15 August 1969) is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands region between 2014 and 2019. He was elected in 2014 for the UK Independence Party, second on the list for the region, being elected together with Jill Seymour and Bill Etheridge. He resigned from UKIP on 28 May 2018, stating that he had become "out of kilter" with the party.
Biography
Carver was born on 15 August 1969 in Farnborough, Kent and was educated at St John Rigby Catholic College and Orpington College of Further Education. Heruns a family business making umbrellas for bookmakers at racecourses.
Political career
Carver stood in four general elections for UKIP: Orpington in 1997 (5th, 526 votes), Cheltenham in 2001 (6th, 482 votes), Preseli Pembrokeshire in 2005 (5th, 498 votes), and Stourbridge in 2015 (3rd, 7,774 votes). He was also sixth on the party list for London in the 1999 European election.
Carver is of Romanichal descent on his grandmother's side, giving rise to his interest in fostering better relationships with traveller communities. He believes that he is the only British Parliamentarian from a Romany background. He has also helped raise both money and awareness for the Scleroderma Society following the death of his first wife from scleroderma in 2009. He has a lifelong commitment to raise awareness of this relatively unknown connective tissue disease.
In April 2017, Carver resigned as UKIP's foreign affairs spokesperson following the party's promise to ban the wearing of the burqa in public. He said that "no one has the right to dictate what people should wear", and that the policy undermined his ability to represent British Muslims in his constituency.
In August 2017, Carver endorsed Henry Bolton in the UKIP leadership election, citing his credentials to restructure the party. Following the election of Bolton as leader of UKIP, Carver was appointed assistant deputy leader.
In May 2018, Carver resigned from UKIP and then sat as an independent MEP until the end of the Eighth European Parliament.
Elections contested
UK Parliament elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Percentage of votes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 general election | Orpington | UKIP | 526 | 0.9 | Not elected | |
| 2001 general election | Cheltenham | UKIP | 482 | 1.2 | Not elected | |
| 2005 general election | Preseli Pembrokeshire | UKIP | 498 | 1.3 | Not elected | |
| 2015 general election | Stourbridge | UKIP | 7,774 | 16.9 | Not elected |
European Parliament elections (Multi-member constituency; party list)
| Date of election | Region | Party | Votes | Percentage of votes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 European election | London | UKIP | 61,741 | 5.4 | Not elected | |
| 2014 European election | West Midlands | UKIP | 428,010 | 31.5 | Elected |
Member of the European Parliament
Carver was first elected to the European Parliament in 2014. He serves on the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Among the topics Carver has raised are:
- EU expansionism and military confrontation
- Economic issues and hardships arising from the eurozone
- The role of the EU operating outside of international law either at home and abroad
He also supports:
- Fostering better understanding of the gypsy communities and how to integrate with mainstream society
- The banning of legal highs
- Recognition of Somaliland
- Addressing the rise of Islamist extremism in the Middle East and Europe
Carver is critical of EU's policy in Israel, claiming that its actions do not comply with the founding treaties of the EU. He says structures built by the EU in a number of Beduin encampments outside Ma'aleh Adumim and on the Jerusalem-Jericho roadbearing the EU logo are disrespectful of the rule of law: "EU member states would not allow such behavior within their own borders, nor would the EU endorse or find it anywhere within the European Union."
On 28 May 2018, Carver resigned from UKIP to sit as an independent MEP.