Michael Heaver Explained

Michael Heaver
Constituency Mp:East of England
Term Start:2 July 2019
Term End:31 January 2020
Predecessor:Stuart Agnew
Successor:Constituency abolished
Parliament:European
Birth Date:1989 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Nationality:British
Party:Conservative (2018–2019, 2021–present)
Otherparty:Brexit (2019–2021)
UKIP (before 2018)
Residence:Benfleet, Essex, England[1]
Education:Coleridge Community College
Hills Road Sixth Form College
Alma Mater:University of East Anglia

Michael Eric Heaver (born 22 September 1989) is a British broadcaster and former politician. He was elected as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England constituency in the 2019 European parliamentary election a role he remained in until the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU. Previously, he was the chair of the UK Independence Party (UKIP)'s youth wing, Young Independence.

Early life

Michael Eric Heaver was born on 22 September 1989 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.[2] His early education was at Coleridge Community College and Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.[3] He appeared on the panel of the BBC's topical debate programme Question Time on 10 July 2008, at the age of 18, after winning the people's panellist competition. In 2011, Heaver graduated from the University of East Anglia with a bachelor's degree in European Politics.[4] [5] [6]

Political career

Heaver joined the UK Independence Party at the age of 17.[3] He twice served as the chair of their youth wing, Young Independence, and stood as a candidate for the party in the 2014 European parliamentary election in the East of England constituency.[7] [8] He also ran UKIP candidate Tim Aker's unsuccessful campaign for the Thurrock constituency in the 2015 general election.[9] [10] [11]

Heaver formerly served as Nigel Farage's press officer from June 2015 until January 2017, when he resigned and launched the website, Westmonster.[12] It was modelled on American right-wing websites, like Breitbart News or Drudge Report.[13] Political donor Arron Banks backed the website.[14] It is now defunct and the company behind it was struck off the Companies Register in 2020.[15] In 2018, he appeared on the far-right American conspiracy theory and fake news website Infowars with alt-right conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson.[16] Later in the year, Heaver left UKIP and joined the Conservative Party.[17]

He stood as a candidate for the Brexit Party in the 2019 European parliamentary election. Heaver was second on his party's list behind chairman Richard Tice, and was elected as one of its three MEPs in the East of England constituency.[18] [19] In the European Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Budgetary Control and was part of the delegation for relations with the Korean Peninsula.[2]

On 26 September 2019, Heaver was announced as the Brexit Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Castle Point constituency in Essex.[20] However, on 11 November 2019, the party announced that it would not stand in incumbent Conservative seats.[21]

Heaver has a YouTube channel which has over 100,000 subscribers.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Brexit Party MEP selected as PPC for Castle Point. Leigh Times. 26 September 2019. 15 October 2019.
  2. Web site: Michael Heaver. 22 September 1989 . European Parliament. 3 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190817111923/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197601/MICHAEL_HEAVER/home#mep-card-content. 17 August 2019. live.
  3. News: Are these the faces of London's young 'alt-right'?. London Evening Standard. 2 March 2017. 30 August 2019. MacBain. Hamish. https://web.archive.org/web/20190831200404/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/these-are-the-faces-of-londons-young-altright-a3477731.html. 31 August 2019. live.
  4. Web site: This week's panel. BBC News. 8 July 2008. 18 August 2019.
  5. Web site: East England Euro Candidates 2014 . UK Polling Report . 27 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190512121743/http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/east-of-england-european-candidates-2014/ . 12 May 2019 . live .
  6. Web site: Final day of ceremonies for the UEA's 2011 graduations. Norwich Evening News. 22 July 2011. 27 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190527142534/https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/education/final-day-of-ceremonies-for-the-uea-s-2011-graduations-1-971047. 27 May 2019. live.
  7. Web site: BBC Three - Free Speech, Series 1 - Michael Heaver. BBC. 2019-06-03.
  8. News: Vote 2014: European election candidates for the East of England. 2014-04-28. 2019-06-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20190603180303/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-27125241. 3 June 2019. live.
  9. News: General Election 2015: Battle for Thurrock turns nasty as Ukip plays race card. The Independent. 5 June 2015. 23 August 2019. Wright. Oliver. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823120438/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/general-election-2015-battle-for-thurrock-turns-nasty-as-ukip-plays-race-card-10227284.html. 23 August 2019. live.
  10. News: Ukip's Tim Aker, the man who wasn't there. Financial Times. 15 March 2015. Engel. Matthew. 23 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823114933/https://www.ft.com/content/21fe7362-cb3a-11e4-bac3-00144feab7de. 23 August 2019. live.
  11. Web site: 2015 Election Results. parliament.uk. 23 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823120443/https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2016-05-05/results/Location/Constituency/Thurrock. 23 August 2019. live.
  12. News: Nigel Farage rejigs his team and hires Michael Heaver as press aide. The Spectator. June 2015. 22 August 2019. Payne. Sebastian. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823114929/https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2015/06/nigel-farage-rejigs-his-team-and-hires-michael-heaver-as-press-aide/. 23 August 2019. live.
  13. News: Arron Banks launches Breitbart-style site Westmonster. The Guardian. 19 January 2017. 17 August 2019. Jackson. Jasper. https://web.archive.org/web/20190709164402/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/19/arron-banks-launches-breitbart-style-site-westmonster. 9 July 2019. live.
  14. News: Arron Banks launches news website. BBC News. Rajan. Amol. 2017-01-20. 2019-06-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20190603154018/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38650596. 3 June 2019. live.
  15. Web site: Michael Eric Heaver. Companies House. 26 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190526230458/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/X-E2mpDw-FGlOxOrKI5jaCu4ECA/appointments. 26 May 2019. live.
  16. Web site: Brexit Party figures have extensive links to InfoWars conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson, retweeting him hundreds of times, and links to American conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. Hope not Hate. 30 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190822210031/https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/exposed-more-brexit-party-links-to-infowars-conspiracy-theorists/. 22 August 2019. live.
  17. Web site: Pro-Brexit movement splinters in fight against PM's EU divorce plan. Reuters. 23 September 2018. 16 August 2019. James. William. https://web.archive.org/web/20190818002920/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-ukip/pro-brexit-movement-splinters-in-fight-against-pms-eu-divorce-plan-idUKKCN1M30C1. 18 August 2019. live.
  18. Web site: 2019 European elections: List of candidates for the East of England. European Parliament. 28 April 2019. 16 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190714142037/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48081343. 14 July 2019. live.
  19. Web site: European elections 2019: Brexit Party wins three East seats. BBC News. 27 May 2019. 19 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190616101617/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-48416930. 16 June 2019. live.
  20. News: Brexit Party MEP selected as PPC for Castle Point. Leigh Times. 26 September 2019. 15 October 2019.
  21. Web site: Brexit Party rules out standing in Tory seats . BBC News . 11 November 2019 . 11 November 2019.
  22. Web site: About. Michael Heaver (YouTube). 18 June 2023.