He was a Councillor in the London Borough of Southwark from 2006 to 2010, standing down in that year to contest the Milton Keynes North parliamentary seat.

He previously worked as Head of Communications, Organising and External Affairs at the science and engineering trade union, Prospect.

[2] Among his voluntary positions, he served as a Trustee of the National Energy Foundation, a Milton Keynes-based charity, from June 2017 to April 2018.

Pakes was selected as Labour Co-op's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South in the 2015 general election.

In July 2022, Pakes was selected as the Labour Co-op candidate for the marginal Conservative seat of Peterborough, in preparation for the next general election.