Background
Bashir was born in Pakistan and moved to Yorkshire aged eight, to live with his father who was a mill worker in Bradford.
Member of the European Parliament politician
Bashir was born in Pakistan and moved to Yorkshire aged eight, to live with his father who was a mill worker in Bradford.
Bashir attended Thornton Grammar School before graduating with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Bradford.
He was elected in 2014 for the United Kingdom Independence Party and defected to the Conservative Party on 24 January 2015. Bashir ran two restaurants, in Bradford and Manchester, for most of his career. only naked opportunism and self-interest." Galloway did not state the exact reasons for which Bashir had been deselected by Respect. However, a spokesman for Bashir said that he had never had anything to do with Respect.
lieutenant was also alleged that Bashir had campaigned for the Labour Party in the past
Bashir later joined UKIP, and was placed second on the UKIP list of candidates for the Yorkshire and the Humber region at the 2014 European Parliament election. At the election, UKIP topped the regional poll with 31% of the vote and were entitled to three seats.
Bashir was thus elected as one of six MEPs for the region. Bashir claims that he met with Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, David Cameron on 23 January 2015 to discuss defecting from UKIP to the Conservative Party and prepared to announce his defection the following day.
However, in the afternoon of 24 January, before his change of allegiance was revealed to the public, UKIP announced that Bashir had been earlier been suspended from UKIP pending an investigation into what they described as "extremely serious" financial and employment issues.
The party has said they have passed information to the police about these issues. UKIP stated that Bashir had failed to attend a meeting on 20 January to discuss their points of concern. They also raised questions about alleged interference in a candidate selection.
Bashir has described the allegations as "absurd and made-up".
lieutenant was also alleged that there were financial issues regarding his expenses with reference to the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group in the European Parliament. In April 2015, Bashir"s lawyers asked Farage to withdraw the claims made about him or face a libel action.
As of May 2015 no such withdrawal has taken place and nor has any libel action been publicly announced.
Political career
According to the Respect Party, in 2012 Bashir was selected as a council candidate for the party for the Bradford Moor ward of Bradford Borough Council representing the Respect Party, but he was then de-selected. In 2015, Galloway claimed that Bashir had "no real political principles or commitment. He was the party"s small and medium business spokesman, and before being suspended by, and then leaving, the party in 2015, he was their communities spokesman.
He is a member of the Pakistani community.
