Bours previously served as a Conservative councillor on Congleton borough and town councils and was elected mayor in 2006. In January 2015, Bours was disqualified as a member of Congleton town council after more than six months of non-attendance. Despite receiving an £80,000 salary from the European Union following the Brexit referendum, Bours' voting record in the EU parliament dropped by 22.6% to just 43.09% overall. Only fellow UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall and three other MEPs have a lower turnout in the entire European Parliament.