James Carver

James Bruce Carver MEP
Member of the European Parliament for West Midlands
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2014
Preceded by	Phil Bennion
Personal details
Born	15 August 1969
Political party	UK Independence Party
Religion	Roman Catholicism[1]

James Bruce Carver (born 15 August 1969) is a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands region for the UK Independence Party. He was elected in 2014,^[2] second on the list for the region, being elected together with Jill Seymour and Bill Etheridge.

Biography

James Carver was educated at Orpington College. He runs a family umbrella business.

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, and is believed to be 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, including his greatest personal achievement to date; running the 2012 London Marathon. He has a lifelong commitment to raise awareness of this relatively unknown connective tissue disease.

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^{[3][4][5][6][7]}
• Economic issues and hardships arising from the eurozone ^[8]
• The role of the EU operating outside of international law either at home and abroad^[9]

He also supports:

• Fostering better understanding of the gypsy communities and how to integrate with mainstream society^[10]
• The banning of legal highs^[11]
• Recognition of Somaliland^[12][13]
• Addressing the rise of extremism in the Middle East and Europe^[14]

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 road bearing 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.^[15]

References

1. "Margot Parker: ‘The bishops must meet with Ukip’". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
2. "vote 2014 - West Midlands". BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZ1mbrEMnI
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpwc-A9djB4
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exUD7tvVzdY
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vbquGOTNz0
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DelnPdvLD8Q
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd3XGjkcgpo
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLHx7DUlSNo
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9DBXxH9Zz8
11. http://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/news/local/11477908.West_Midlands_MEP_hits_out_at_legal_highs/?ref=rss
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-csyG0XOmS8
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlz8G_fuxn4
14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=522cmMTgP9g
15. Report: EU building hundreds of illegal structures for Palestinians in Area C of West Bank

External links

• Profile at European Parliament website
• James Carver's website
• Scleroderma Society