Timür Mark "Tim" Aker (born 23 May 1985) is a British politician who was a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...
for the
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...
region. He was elected as a
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
(UKIP) candidate in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. He was head of UKIP's Policy Unit from August 2013 to January 2015, and was UKIP's candidate for the
Thurrock constituency in the
2015 general election
This national electoral calendar for 2015 lists the national/Federation, federal elections held in 2015 in all List of sovereign states, sovereign states and their Dependent territory, dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though na ...
, coming third in a close 3-way election. Aker left UKIP and joined the
Thurrock Independents
The Thurrock Independents, also known as the Thurrock Independents Party (TIP), are a localist and populist British political party based in Thurrock, Essex, England. It was formed in January 2018 when seventeen Thurrock councillors, including ...
where he also successfully sought election a councillor in 2018, before later joining the
Brexit Party
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant po ...
.
Early life
Aker was born in
Orsett
Orsett is a village, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, situated around 5 km north-east of Grays. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1771.
History
It has historical ...
to a Turkish father and an English mother, and grew up in
Aveley
Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom ...
. He attended
Havering Sixth Form College
Havering Sixth Form College (alternatively styled Havering VI Form College), abbreviated as HSFC, is a sixth form college in Wingletye Lane, Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, East London, England. Built on the site of Dury Falls Seco ...
. He went on to study at the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
, graduating with a BA in History and Politics.
He was previously campaign director for
Get Britain Out
Get Britain Out is a United Kingdom based independent cross-party grassroots Eurosceptic Group which campaigned for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. The campaign is still in operation and is pushing for the UK to break away from c ...
and a coordinator for the
TaxPayers' Alliance
The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom which was formed in 2004 to campaign for a low-tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008 and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010. However ...
.
Political career
Referred to by ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'' as one of UKIP's most recognisable figures, Aker stood unsuccessfully in the constituency of
Thurrock
Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...
in the 2015 general election (although he gained nearly 32% of the vote and came within 1000 votes of the winning candidate). On 20 January 2015, Aker quit as UKIP's Head of Policy, with some press reporting that he was sacked for failing to complete the party's manifesto on time, a claim which the party denied. Appointed as Local Government spokesman by
Henry Bolton in October 2017, Aker left this post after Bolton failed to resign as leader following a vote of no confidence from UKIP's National Executive Committee.
After the ousting of Bolton as leader, Aker left UKIP. As of December 2018, he sat in the European Parliament as a
Thurrock Independents
The Thurrock Independents, also known as the Thurrock Independents Party (TIP), are a localist and populist British political party based in Thurrock, Essex, England. It was formed in January 2018 when seventeen Thurrock councillors, including ...
MEP, while remaining a member of the
Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD or EFD²) was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD ...
parliamentary group. From February 2019 until the UK's departure from the EU, Aker sat in the European Parliament for the
Brexit Party
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant po ...
. He also resigned his seat on Thurrock council having moved away from the area.
Elections contested
European Parliament elections (Multi-member constituency; party list)
United Kingdom general elections (Single-member constituencies)
Thurrock Borough Council by-election (Single-member ward)
After Politics
He resigned as a Councillor in February 2019 and chose not to seek re-election as an MEP in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
He briefly worked for Amazon before being appointed as the Development Manager for the
Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...
in Kent and Medway.
Personal life
Aker claims to have a private property portfolio and completed an MA in 20th Century British History at the University of Buckingham in March 2022, where he is now a PhD student.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aker, Tim
1985 births
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
English people of Turkish descent
Living people
MEPs for England 2014–2019
People from Aveley
People from Orsett
Politics of Thurrock
Brexit Party MEPs
UK Independence Party MEPs
Thurrock Independents MEPs
UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates
People educated at Havering Sixth Form College
Councillors in Essex
Conservative Party (UK) politicians
British Eurosceptics