Preceded by Rebecca Taylor Party UK Independence Party Role Member of Parliament | Name Mike Hookem | |
 | ||
Born 9 October 1953 (age 70)
Kingston upon Hull, England ( 1953-10-09 ) Profiles | ||
Political party UK Independence Party | ||
Armed migrants free to move across europe mike hookem mep
Michael "Mike" Hookem (born 9 October 1953) is a Member of the European Parliament for the Yorkshire and the Humber region for the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He has served as UKIP's Fisheries spokesman since 29 November 2016, and previously served as defence spokesman from 2014 to 2016. He was elected in 2014.
Contents
- Armed migrants free to move across europe mike hookem mep
- Mike Hookem tells all on Woolfe scuffle
- Early life
- UKIP politics
- Elections contested
- References
Mike Hookem tells all on Woolfe scuffle
Early life
Hookem grew up in the fishing community in the east of Hull, and left school at 15. His father worked on the docks. Hookem enlisted in the Royal Air Force at the age of 17, and served for four years.
After working in various trades he rejoined the military, serving in the Royal Engineers as a Commando Engineer for nine years.
UKIP politics
Hookem voted for the Labour Party until he became disillusioned with what he considered "a criminal Labour government". In response to his disillusionment with Labour, Hookem joined UKIP in 2008, after having for years been a Labour member.
He stood as UKIP candidate in Hull East in the 2010 general election, but finished fourth with 2,745 votes (8%).
Hookem was elected in 2014 to the European Parliament. He had served as UKIP's regional chairman for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire until that election. He was replaced as chairman by Judith Morris from July 2014.
He was the running-mate for Bill Etheridge in the first UKIP leadership election of 2016, which ended on 16 September 2016, with Etheridge and Hookem finishing third.
On 6 October 2016, Hookem was reported to have been involved in a fight with fellow UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe during a UKIP meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Hookem said he had not punched Woolfe, but did admit to a "scuffle" with him and that he acted in self-defence. The altercation was an outgrowth of a party meeting to discuss news reports that Woolfe was in talks about defecting to the Conservative Party. Hookem said Woolfe "took exception" to his comment about Woolfe turning his leadership application paperwork late. Hookem was asked if he would accept a suspension and Hookem said: "If they suspend me, yes. By our rules if they suspend me they have to suspend Steven Woolfe".
Hookem stood as UKIP's candidate for Great Grimsby in the 2017 general election, finishing third with 1,647 votes (4.6%), thus 128 votes short of keeping his deposit.
Hookem resigned his position as UKIP's deputy whip in August 2017, in protest at the party's decision to allow Anne Marie Waters, founder of the anti-Muslim pressure group Sharia Watch UK, to stand as a candidate in the party's upcoming leadership election. Speaking to the BBC, he explained that was "disturbed" by party whip Stuart Agnew's support for Waters, he was not prepared to "turn a blind eye" to extremism and he believed "she should not be in the party and she should not be standing as a candidate." He confirmed that he would not quit the party should Waters be elected, but he would not support her.
Elections contested
UK Parliament
European Parliament elections