Michael Heaver | |
|---|---|
 Heaver in 2019 | |
| Member of the European Parliament forEast of England | |
| In office 2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Stuart Agnew |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1989-09-22)22 September 1989 (age 36) Cambridge,Cambridgeshire, England |
| Party | Reform UK (2024-present) |
| Other political affiliations | UKIP (before 2018) Conservatives (2018–2019) Brexit Party (2019–2021) |
| Residence(s) | 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 aBrexit PartyMember of the European Parliament (MEP) for theEast of England constituency in the2019 election and served in that role until theUnited Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU. Previously, he was the chair of theUK Independence Party (UKIP)'s youth wing,Young Independence.
Michael Eric Heaver was born inCambridge,Cambridgeshire.[2] His early education was atColeridge Community College andHills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.[3] He appeared on the panel of theBBC's topical debate programmeQuestion Time on 10 July 2008, at the age of 18, after winning the people's panellist competition. In 2011, Heaver graduated from theUniversity of East Anglia with a bachelor's degree in European Politics.[4][5][6]
Heaver joined theUK Independence Party (UKIP) at the age of 17,[3] serving twice as the chair of their youth wing,Young Independence. He stood as a candidate for the party in the2014 European parliamentary election in theEast of England constituency.[7][8] He also ran UKIP candidateTim Aker's unsuccessful campaign for theThurrock constituency in the2015 general election[9][10][11] and subsequently served asNigel Farage's press officer until early 2017.[12]
In 2018, Heaver left UKIP and joined theConservative Party.[13]
He stood as a candidate for theBrexit Party in the2019 European parliamentary election. Heaver was second on hisparty's list behind only chairmanRichard Tice, and was elected as one of its three MEPs in theEast of England constituency.[14][15] In theEuropean Parliament, he was a member of theCommittee on Budgetary Control and was part of the delegation for relations with theKorean Peninsula.[2]
On 26 September 2019, the Brexit Party announced that Heaver was theirprospective parliamentary candidate for theCastle Point constituency in Essex.[1] However, the party announced on 11 November 2019 that it would not stand in incumbent Conservative seats.[16]
Heaver resigned from Farage's staff in January 2017 and, backed by political donorArron Banks, launched the news websiteWestmonster, modelled on Americanright-wing sites likeBreitbart News and theDrudge Report.[17][18] It is now defunct, and the company behind it was struck off theCompanies Register in 2020.[19]
Heaver has aYouTube channel with over 190,000 subscribers, also started in January 2017,[20] and is theGB News Community Editor.[21]
