TIM Aker MEP and UKIP's MP candidate for Thurrock, has announced that he is going to run for council.

Mr Aker, who was elected as a UKIP MEP for the Eastern Region in May, will fly the gold and yellow flag in the upcoming Aveley and Uplands by-election.

The election was called last Friday following the funeral of Maggie O'Keeffe-Ray, who was UKIP councillor for the ward before she passed away in September.

In a statement, Mr Aker said that if he wins the by-election on Thursday, December 4, he will donate his councillor allowances - which would amount to around £8,000 per year - to causes in Aveley that both he and Maggie support. 

He said: "This is a by-election that shouldn’t be happening.  I thought long and hard about this and it's what my good friend Maggie would have wanted.

"I am putting myself forward to carry on her work serving the community, my community of Aveley and Uplands. It's where I was born and a place that I love.

"It is clear that in Aveley and Thurrock more widely, people want a local man who understands the community and the issues we face.  I've helped residents in Thurrock already and have the resources, time and energy to serve Aveley and Uplands as well."

Should he be victorious in December, Mr Aker would be able to continue as an MEP for the Eastern Region. It is only if he wins next year's General Election that he would have to resign as MEP - but he would be able to continue as councillor and MP, like Conservative Kettering MP Phillip Hollobone does.

Mr Aker added: "I have said as an MEP I am here to serve the local people and it would be my honour do that in the Council chamber, shaking up the cosy Labour and Conservative consensus.

"If I win, I will be donating all of my Councillor allowances to the causes in Aveley that I support and which Maggie did too."