Nigel Farage
Encyclopedia
Nigel Paul Farage MEP
(icon; ; born 3 April 1964, Farnborough, is a British politician and is the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a position he previously held from September 2006 to November 2009. He is a current Member of the European Parliament
for South East England
and co-chairs the Eurosceptic
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
group.
Farage was a founding member of the UKIP, having left the Conservative Party
in 1992 after they signed the Maastricht Treaty
. Having unsuccessfully campaigned in European
and Westminster parliamentary elections for UKIP since 1994, he gained a seat as an MEP for South East England
in the 1999 European Parliament Election — the first year the regional list system was used — and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009. Farage describes himself as a libertarian
and rejects the notion that he is a conservative.
In September 2006, Farage became the UKIP Leader and led the party through the 2009 European Parliament Election
in which it received the second highest share of the popular vote, defeating Labour
and the Liberal Democrats
with over two million votes. However he stepped down in November 2009 to concentrate on contesting the Speaker John Bercow's seat of Buckingham
in the 2010 general election.
At the 2010 General Election, Farage failed to unseat John Bercow and received only the third highest share of the vote in the constituency. Shortly after the polls opened on 6 May 2010, Nigel Farage was injured in an aircraft crash in Northamptonshire. The two-seated PZL-104 Wilga 35A
had been towing a pro-UKIP banner when it flipped over and crashed shortly after takeoff. Both Farage and the pilot were hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.
In November 2010, Farage successfully stood in the 2010 UKIP leadership contest
, following the resignation of its leader, Lord Pearson of Rannoch
. Farage was also ranked 41st (out of 100) in The Daily Telegraph
s Top 100 most influential right-wingers poll in October 2009, citing his media savvy and his success with UKIP in the European Elections. Farage was ranked 58th in the 2010 list compiled by Iain Dale and Brian Brivati for the Daily Telegraph.
before joining a commodity broker
age firm in London. He ran his own brokerage business from the early 1990s until 2002. In his early 20s Farage was diagnosed with testicular cancer but made a full recovery.
Farage has been married twice. He married Gráinne Hayes in 1988, with whom he had two children: Samuel (1989) and Thomas (1991). In 1999 he married Kirsten Mehr, a German national, by whom he has two more children, Victoria (born 2000) and Isabelle (born 2005).
Farage has also penned his own memoirs, entitled "Fighting Bull." It outlines the founding of UKIP and his personal and political life so far.
from his school days, Farage left the party in 1992 when John Major
's government signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht
.
He was elected to the European Parliament
in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009
. Farage is presently the leader of the thirteen-member UKIP contingent in the European Parliament, and co-leader of the multinational eurosceptic group, Europe of Freedom and Democracy
.
with 45% of the vote, 20% ahead of his nearest rival. He pledged to bring discipline to the party and to maximise UKIP's representation in local, parliamentary and other elections. In a PM programme
interview on BBC Radio 4
that day he pledged to end the public perception of UKIP as a single-issue party and to work with allied politicians in the Better Off Out
campaign, committing himself not to stand against the MPs
who have signed up to that campaign (ten in all at this moment).
At his maiden speech to the UKIP conference on 8 October 2006, he told delegates that the party was "at the centre-ground of British public opinion" and the "real voice of opposition". Farage said: "We've got three social democratic parties in Britain — Labour
, Lib Dem
and Conservative
are virtually indistinguishable from each other on nearly all the main issues" and "you can't put a cigarette paper between them and that is why there are nine million people who don't vote now in general elections that did back in 1992."
At 10pm on 19 October 2006, Farage took part in a three-hour live interview and phone-in with James Whale
on national radio station talkSPORT
. Four days later, Whale announced on his show his intention to stand as UKIP's candidate in the 2008 London Mayoral Election
. Farage said that Whale "not only has guts, but an understanding of what real people think". However Whale later decided not to stand and UKIP was represented by Gerard Batten
. He stood again for UKIP leadership in 2010 after his successor Lord Pearson
stood down. On the 5th November 2010 it was announced Farage had won the leadership contest.
, if he was ever elected to the House of Commons, he would have to resign his seat as an MEP.
When he contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency in a May 2006 by-election
, organised after the sitting MP representing it, eurosceptic Conservative Eric Forth
, died, Farage came third, winning 8% of the vote, beating the Labour Party
candidate. This was the second-best by-election result recorded by UKIP out of 25 results, and the first time since the Liverpool Walton by-election
in 1991 that a party in government had been pushed into fourth place in a parliamentary by-election on mainland Britain.
for Buckingham
at Westminster in the 2010 general election. He later told Times
journalist Camilla Long that UKIP internal fights took up too much time.
He stood against Buckingham MP John Bercow
, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons
, despite a convention that the speaker, as a political neutral, is not normally challenged in his or her bid for re-election by any of the major parties.
On 6 May, on the morning the polls opened
in the election, just before eight o'clock Farage was involved in a light aircraft crash, suffering injuries described as non-life-threatening. A spokesperson told the BBC that "it was unlikely Mr Farage would be discharged from hospital today [6 May] Although his injuries were originally described as minor, his sternum and ribs were broken, and his lung punctured. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said that the aeroplane was towing a banner, which caught in the tailplane, forcing the nose down.
Farage came third with 8,401 votes. Bercow was re-elected, and in second place with 10,331 votes was John Stevens
, a former Conservative MEP who campaigned as an independent accompanied by "Flipper the Dolphin" (a reference to MPs flipping second homes).
On 1 December 2010, the pilot of the aircraft involved in the accident was charged with threatening to kill Farage. He was also charged with threatening to kill an AAIB official involved in the investigation into the accident.
In April 2011, Justin Adams was found guilty of making death threats. The judge said the defendant was "clearly extremely disturbed" at the time the offences happened adding
"He is a man who does need help. If I can find a way of giving him help I will."
However, the party's stance has to be decided by its central policy making committee.
reported that Farage had said in a speech to the Foreign Press Association that over ten years as a member of the European Parliament he received £2 million of taxpayers' money in staff, travel, and other expenses on top of his £64,000 a year salary.
The former Europe Minister, Denis MacShane
, said that this showed that Farage was "happy to line his pockets with gold". Farage called this a "misrepresentation", pointing out that the money had been used to promote UKIP's message, not salary, but he welcomed the focus on the issue of MEP expenses, claiming that "[o]ver a five year term each and every one of Britain's 78 MEPs gets about £1 million. It is used to employ administrative staff, run their offices and to travel back and forth between their home, Brussels and Strasbourg." He also pointed out the money spent on the YES campaign in Ireland by the European Commission was "something around 440 million", making the NO campaign's figure insignificant in comparison.
, the French Commissioner designate, had been barred from elected office in France for 2 years, after being convicted in 2000 of embezzling £2 million from government funds and diverting it into the coffers of his party. He claimed that French President Jacques Chirac
had granted Barrot amnesty
. Although initial BBC reports claimed that, under French law, it was illegal even to mention the conviction, the prohibition in question only applies to French officials in the course of their duties. The president of the Parliament, Josep Borrell
, enjoined him to retract his comments under threat of "legal consequences". However, the following day it was confirmed that Barrot had received an 8 month suspended jail sentence in the case, and that this had been quickly expunged by the amnesty decided by Chirac and his parliamentary majority. The Commission's president, Jose Manuel Barroso admitted that he had not known of Barrot's criminal record when appointing him as a Commission vice-president. The Socialist and Liberal groups in the European Parliament then joined UKIP in demanding the sacking of Barrot for failing to disclose the conviction during his confirmation hearings.
disclose where the individual Commissioners had spent their holidays. The Commission did not provide the information requested, on the basis that the Commissioners had a right of privacy. The German newspaper Die Welt
reported that the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso had spent a week on the yacht of the Greek shipping billionaire Spiro Latsis
. It emerged soon afterwards that this had occurred a month before the Commission under Barroso's predecessor Romano Prodi approved 10.3 million euro of Greek state aid for Latsis' shipping company. It also became known that Peter Mandelson
, then a member of the Commission, had accepted a trip to Jamaica
from an unrevealed source.
Farage persuaded around 75 MEPs from across the political divide to back a motion of no confidence in Barroso, which would be sufficient to compel Barroso to appear before the European Parliament to be questioned on the issue. The motion was successfully tabled on 12 May 2005, and Barroso appeared before Parliament at a debate on 26 May 2005. The motion was heavily defeated. A Conservative MEP, Roger Helmer
, was expelled from his group, the European People's Party - European Democrats (EPP-ED) in the middle of the debate by that group's leader Hans-Gert Poettering as a result of his support for Farage's motion.
was elected the new leader of the European People's Party–European Democrats
(EPP-ED), the European Parliamentary grouping which then included the British Conservatives. The UK Independence Party almost immediately revealed that Daul had been under judicial investigation in France since 2004 as part of an inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds worth €16 million (£10.6 million) by French farming unions." It was not suggested that Daul had personally benefited, but was accused of "complicity and concealment of the abuse of public funds." Daul accused Farage of publicising the investigation for political reasons and threatened to sue Farage, but did not do so though the court dropped all charges against him.
. During the standing ovation that followed, Farage was the only MEP to remain seated and went on to describe the Prince's advisers as "naïve and foolish at best." Farage continued: "How can somebody like Prince Charles be allowed to come to the European Parliament at this time to announce he thinks it should have more powers? It would have been better for the country he wants to rule one day if he had stayed home and tried to persuade Gordon Brown
to give the people the promised referendum [on the Treaty of Lisbon
]." The leader of the UK Labour Party
's MEPs, Gary Titley
, accused Farage of anti-Royalism. Titley said: "I was embarrassed and disgusted when the Leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, remained firmly seated during the lengthy standing ovation Prince Charles received. I had not realised Mr Farage's blind adherence to right wing politics involved disloyalty and discourtesy to the Royal Family
. He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and should apologise to the British people he represents."
on 24 February 2010 in the European parliament
, Farage—to protests from other MEPs—addressed the first long-term President of the European Council
saying that he has the "charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of low grade bank clerk". Farage questioned the legitimacy of Van Rompuy's appointment asking "Who are you? I'd never heard of you, nobody in Europe had ever heard of you", he also asserted that Van Rompuy's "intention is to be the quiet assassin of European democracy and of European nation states." In the same speech he also referred to Belgium
, the home of Van Rompuy, as a "non-country". Van Rompuy commented afterwards, "There was one contribution that I can only hold in contempt, but I'm not going to comment further." After refusing to apologise for behaviour that was, in the words of the President of the European Parliament
, Jerzy Buzek
, "inappropriate, unparliamentary and insulting to the dignity of the House", Farage was reprimanded and had his right to ten days' allowance (expenses) rescinded.
The President of the European Parliament
, Jerzy Buzek
, said after his meeting with Farage:
Questioned by Camilla Long, Farage declared of his speech "it wasn't abusive, it was right."
project". His argument is that "a one size fits all interest rate" cannot work for countries with structually different economies, often using the example of Greece
and Germany
to emphasise contrast. He predicted the need for 'bail outs' before European Commission
and European Central Bank
officials admitted that these steps would be necessary. Specifically, Farage predicted that Greece
, Ireland
, Portugal
and Spain
would all require such assistance. To date Spain is the only predicted country that has not asked for a 'bail out' but Farage warns: "You can ignore the markets if you want to, but in time the markets will not ignore you". Farage also reinforces Germany
's argument that Italy
"should never have joined the euro" but he has not explicitly predicted the need for similar financial assistance in the case of Italy.
Farage predicts that if the situation continues it will lead to violence due to the peoples inability to "determine their own futures through the ballot box" as it will become the only "logical" tool to enable them to escape from their "economic prison" i.e. the Eurozone
. He proclaims "I can only hope and pray that the euro project is destroyed by the markets before that really happens."
Farage strongly opposes the use of 'bail outs' and claims that "buying your own debt with tax payers money" will not solve the problem and that, "if we do, the next debt crisis won't be a country", "it will be the European Central Bank
itself".
banner:
MEP
MEP may refer to:* Member of the European Parliament, an elected politician in the European Union * Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing, a part of the building design industry...
(icon; ; born 3 April 1964, Farnborough, is a British politician and is the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a position he previously held from September 2006 to November 2009. He is a current Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for South East England
South East England (European Parliament constituency)
South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
and co-chairs the Eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy is a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. Formed after the European parliamentary election in 2009, it is mostly made up of elements of the now defunct Independence/Democracy and Union for a Europe of Nations groups from the out-going...
group.
Farage was a founding member of the UKIP, having left the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in 1992 after they signed the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
. Having unsuccessfully campaigned in European
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and Westminster parliamentary elections for UKIP since 1994, he gained a seat as an MEP for South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
in the 1999 European Parliament Election — the first year the regional list system was used — and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009. Farage describes himself as a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and rejects the notion that he is a conservative.
In September 2006, Farage became the UKIP Leader and led the party through the 2009 European Parliament Election
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
in which it received the second highest share of the popular vote, defeating Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
with over two million votes. However he stepped down in November 2009 to concentrate on contesting the Speaker John Bercow's seat of Buckingham
Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Buckingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in the 2010 general election.
At the 2010 General Election, Farage failed to unseat John Bercow and received only the third highest share of the vote in the constituency. Shortly after the polls opened on 6 May 2010, Nigel Farage was injured in an aircraft crash in Northamptonshire. The two-seated PZL-104 Wilga 35A
PZL-104 Wilga
PZL-104 Wilga is a Polish designed and built short-takeoff-and-landing Civil Aviation utility aircraft manufactured by PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie";...
had been towing a pro-UKIP banner when it flipped over and crashed shortly after takeoff. Both Farage and the pilot were hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.
In November 2010, Farage successfully stood in the 2010 UKIP leadership contest
United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election, 2010
The United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election of 2010 was triggered on 17 August 2010 with the resignation of the incumbent leader, Lord Pearson of Rannoch, following difficulties during the 2010 general election campaign, with the result announced on 5 November 2010...
, following the resignation of its leader, Lord Pearson of Rannoch
Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch
Malcolm Everard MacLaren Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch is a British businessman and the former leader of the UK Independence Party . He is a member of the House of Lords.-Biography:...
. Farage was also ranked 41st (out of 100) in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
s Top 100 most influential right-wingers poll in October 2009, citing his media savvy and his success with UKIP in the European Elections. Farage was ranked 58th in the 2010 list compiled by Iain Dale and Brian Brivati for the Daily Telegraph.
Background
Farage was educated at Dulwich CollegeDulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
before joining a commodity broker
Broker
A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...
age firm in London. He ran his own brokerage business from the early 1990s until 2002. In his early 20s Farage was diagnosed with testicular cancer but made a full recovery.
Farage has been married twice. He married Gráinne Hayes in 1988, with whom he had two children: Samuel (1989) and Thomas (1991). In 1999 he married Kirsten Mehr, a German national, by whom he has two more children, Victoria (born 2000) and Isabelle (born 2005).
Farage has also penned his own memoirs, entitled "Fighting Bull." It outlines the founding of UKIP and his personal and political life so far.
Conservative Party
Active in the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
from his school days, Farage left the party in 1992 when John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
's government signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
.
UKIP and the European Parliament
Farage became a founding member of UKIP in 1993.He was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
. Farage is presently the leader of the thirteen-member UKIP contingent in the European Parliament, and co-leader of the multinational eurosceptic group, Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Europe of Freedom and Democracy is a Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. Formed after the European parliamentary election in 2009, it is mostly made up of elements of the now defunct Independence/Democracy and Union for a Europe of Nations groups from the out-going...
.
UKIP party leadership
On 12 September 2006, Farage was elected leader of UKIPUnited Kingdom Independence Party leadership election, 2006
The United Kingdom Independence Party held a leadership election in September 2006.The Eurosceptic party had been led since 2002 by Roger Knapman...
with 45% of the vote, 20% ahead of his nearest rival. He pledged to bring discipline to the party and to maximise UKIP's representation in local, parliamentary and other elections. In a PM programme
PM (Radio 4)
PM, sometimes referred to as the PM programme to avoid ambiguity, is BBC Radio 4's long-running early evening news and current affairs programme.-Broadcast times:...
interview on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
that day he pledged to end the public perception of UKIP as a single-issue party and to work with allied politicians in the Better Off Out
Better Off Out
Better Off Out is the name of a non-party campaign run by The Freedom Association to call for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union...
campaign, committing himself not to stand against the MPs
MPS
MPS may refer to:* Robinson List, aka Mail Preference Service, direct mail opt-out system* Malmin Palloseura, association football club from Helsinki, Finland.* Marginal propensity to save* Master Production Schedule...
who have signed up to that campaign (ten in all at this moment).
At his maiden speech to the UKIP conference on 8 October 2006, he told delegates that the party was "at the centre-ground of British public opinion" and the "real voice of opposition". Farage said: "We've got three social democratic parties in Britain — Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, Lib Dem
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
are virtually indistinguishable from each other on nearly all the main issues" and "you can't put a cigarette paper between them and that is why there are nine million people who don't vote now in general elections that did back in 1992."
At 10pm on 19 October 2006, Farage took part in a three-hour live interview and phone-in with James Whale
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
on national radio station talkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
. Four days later, Whale announced on his show his intention to stand as UKIP's candidate in the 2008 London Mayoral Election
London mayoral election, 2008
The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
. Farage said that Whale "not only has guts, but an understanding of what real people think". However Whale later decided not to stand and UKIP was represented by Gerard Batten
Gerard Batten
Gerard Joseph Batten is a Member of the European Parliament for London for the United Kingdom Independence Party . He was first elected in 2004. He sits as a member of the Independence and Democracy Group....
. He stood again for UKIP leadership in 2010 after his successor Lord Pearson
Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch
Malcolm Everard MacLaren Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch is a British businessman and the former leader of the UK Independence Party . He is a member of the House of Lords.-Biography:...
stood down. On the 5th November 2010 it was announced Farage had won the leadership contest.
Westminster elections
Farage had unsuccessfully contested UK parliamentary elections for UKIP five times, both before and after his election as an MEP in 1999. Under the 2002 European Union decision to forbid MEPs from holding a dual mandateDual mandate
A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials served in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is known as double jobbing in Britain and distinguished from double dipping in the United States For example, suppose a...
, if he was ever elected to the House of Commons, he would have to resign his seat as an MEP.
When he contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency in a May 2006 by-election
Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006
A by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst in London, following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. The writ for the electing of a new member was issued on 6 June for a polling day of 29 June 2006, the same day as the...
, organised after the sitting MP representing it, eurosceptic Conservative Eric Forth
Eric Forth
Eric Forth was a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Birmingham North, then Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire and finally Bromley and Chislehurst at his death. He served as a junior minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John...
, died, Farage came third, winning 8% of the vote, beating the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate. This was the second-best by-election result recorded by UKIP out of 25 results, and the first time since the Liverpool Walton by-election
Liverpool Walton by-election, 1991
The Liverpool Walton by-election was held on 4 July 1991, following the death of the Labour Party Member of Parliament Eric Heffer for Liverpool Walton, on 27 May.The constituency had become a safe Labour seat under Heffer, who was known as a left-wing MP...
in 1991 that a party in government had been pushed into fourth place in a parliamentary by-election on mainland Britain.
2010 UK General election
On 4 September 2009 Farage resigned as leader of UKIP to concentrate on his campaign to become Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Buckingham
Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Buckingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
at Westminster in the 2010 general election. He later told Times
Times
The Times is a UK daily newspaper, the original English language newspaper titled "Times". Times may also refer to:In newspapers:*The Times , went defunct in 2005*The Times *The Times of Northwest Indiana...
journalist Camilla Long that UKIP internal fights took up too much time.
He stood against Buckingham MP John Bercow
John Bercow
John Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker he was a member of the Conservative party....
, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
, despite a convention that the speaker, as a political neutral, is not normally challenged in his or her bid for re-election by any of the major parties.
On 6 May, on the morning the polls opened
Election Day (United Kingdom)
Election Day in the United Kingdom is by tradition a Thursday, but the date for general elections is not fixed by law. Most other European countries hold all Elections on Sundays...
in the election, just before eight o'clock Farage was involved in a light aircraft crash, suffering injuries described as non-life-threatening. A spokesperson told the BBC that "it was unlikely Mr Farage would be discharged from hospital today [6 May] Although his injuries were originally described as minor, his sternum and ribs were broken, and his lung punctured. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said that the aeroplane was towing a banner, which caught in the tailplane, forcing the nose down.
Farage came third with 8,401 votes. Bercow was re-elected, and in second place with 10,331 votes was John Stevens
John Stevens (politician)
John Christopher Courtenay Stevens is an English politician. A Conservative Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999, he contested the Buckingham constituency in the 2010 general election as an independent, against Commons speaker John Bercow.-Background:Stevens was educated at...
, a former Conservative MEP who campaigned as an independent accompanied by "Flipper the Dolphin" (a reference to MPs flipping second homes).
On 1 December 2010, the pilot of the aircraft involved in the accident was charged with threatening to kill Farage. He was also charged with threatening to kill an AAIB official involved in the investigation into the accident.
In April 2011, Justin Adams was found guilty of making death threats. The judge said the defendant was "clearly extremely disturbed" at the time the offences happened adding
"He is a man who does need help. If I can find a way of giving him help I will."
Alternative Vote referendum, May 2011
Farage declared himself personally in favour of the Alternative Vote system of May 2011, saying first-past-the-post is a "nightmare" for UKIP.However, the party's stance has to be decided by its central policy making committee.
Copyright infringement
In 1999 the BBC spent four months filming a documentary about his European elections campaign but didn't show it. Farage, then head of UKIP's South East office, asked for a video and got friends to make illegal copies which were sold for £5 through the UKIP magazine. Surrey Trading Standards investigated and Farage has admitted the offence.Expenses disclosure
In May 2009, The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported that Farage had said in a speech to the Foreign Press Association that over ten years as a member of the European Parliament he received £2 million of taxpayers' money in staff, travel, and other expenses on top of his £64,000 a year salary.
The former Europe Minister, Denis MacShane
Denis MacShane
Denis MacShane is a British politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rotherham since the 1994 by-election and served as the Minister for Europe from 2002 until 2005, as well as being a current Policy Council member for Labour Friends of Israel.On 14 October 2010, it was announced...
, said that this showed that Farage was "happy to line his pockets with gold". Farage called this a "misrepresentation", pointing out that the money had been used to promote UKIP's message, not salary, but he welcomed the focus on the issue of MEP expenses, claiming that "[o]ver a five year term each and every one of Britain's 78 MEPs gets about £1 million. It is used to employ administrative staff, run their offices and to travel back and forth between their home, Brussels and Strasbourg." He also pointed out the money spent on the YES campaign in Ireland by the European Commission was "something around 440 million", making the NO campaign's figure insignificant in comparison.
Jacques Barrot
On 18 November 2004, Farage announced in the European Parliament that Jacques BarrotJacques Barrot
Jacques Barrot is a French politician, who has served as European Commissioner for Justice , after four years as Commissioner for Transport and Commissioner for Regional Policy for eight months . He is also one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member Barroso Commission...
, the French Commissioner designate, had been barred from elected office in France for 2 years, after being convicted in 2000 of embezzling £2 million from government funds and diverting it into the coffers of his party. He claimed that French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
had granted Barrot amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
. Although initial BBC reports claimed that, under French law, it was illegal even to mention the conviction, the prohibition in question only applies to French officials in the course of their duties. The president of the Parliament, Josep Borrell
Josep Borrell
Josep Borrell Fontelles is a Spanish politician. He was nominated President of the European University Institute on 12 December 2008, and assumed this position in January 2010. Borrell was President of the European Parliament from 20 July 2004 until 16 January 2007...
, enjoined him to retract his comments under threat of "legal consequences". However, the following day it was confirmed that Barrot had received an 8 month suspended jail sentence in the case, and that this had been quickly expunged by the amnesty decided by Chirac and his parliamentary majority. The Commission's president, Jose Manuel Barroso admitted that he had not known of Barrot's criminal record when appointing him as a Commission vice-president. The Socialist and Liberal groups in the European Parliament then joined UKIP in demanding the sacking of Barrot for failing to disclose the conviction during his confirmation hearings.
José Manuel Barroso
During the spring of 2005, Farage requested that the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
disclose where the individual Commissioners had spent their holidays. The Commission did not provide the information requested, on the basis that the Commissioners had a right of privacy. The German newspaper Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
reported that the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso had spent a week on the yacht of the Greek shipping billionaire Spiro Latsis
Spiro Latsis
Dr. Spiro J. Latsis is a Greek businessman with a fortune of US$9.1 billion . He ranked 51st on Forbes's 2006 World's Billionaires list. He is the son of the Greek shipping magnate, John Latsis, who died in 2003....
. It emerged soon afterwards that this had occurred a month before the Commission under Barroso's predecessor Romano Prodi approved 10.3 million euro of Greek state aid for Latsis' shipping company. It also became known that Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
, then a member of the Commission, had accepted a trip to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
from an unrevealed source.
Farage persuaded around 75 MEPs from across the political divide to back a motion of no confidence in Barroso, which would be sufficient to compel Barroso to appear before the European Parliament to be questioned on the issue. The motion was successfully tabled on 12 May 2005, and Barroso appeared before Parliament at a debate on 26 May 2005. The motion was heavily defeated. A Conservative MEP, Roger Helmer
Roger Helmer
Roger Helmer is a British politician and a Conservative Party Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands region. He has described himself as a eurosceptic and is a supporter of the Better Off Out campaign. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999 as a Conservative Party...
, was expelled from his group, the European People's Party - European Democrats (EPP-ED) in the middle of the debate by that group's leader Hans-Gert Poettering as a result of his support for Farage's motion.
Joseph Daul
In January 2007, the French farmers' leader Joseph DaulJoseph Daul
Joseph Daul is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the East of France. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement , a member-party of the European People's Party...
was elected the new leader of the European People's Party–European Democrats
European People's Party–European Democrats
The Group of the European People's Party , abbreviated to EPP Group, is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament...
(EPP-ED), the European Parliamentary grouping which then included the British Conservatives. The UK Independence Party almost immediately revealed that Daul had been under judicial investigation in France since 2004 as part of an inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds worth €16 million (£10.6 million) by French farming unions." It was not suggested that Daul had personally benefited, but was accused of "complicity and concealment of the abuse of public funds." Daul accused Farage of publicising the investigation for political reasons and threatened to sue Farage, but did not do so though the court dropped all charges against him.
Prince Charles
Prince Charles gave a speech to the European Parliament on 14 February 2008, in which he called for EU leadership in the war against climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. During the standing ovation that followed, Farage was the only MEP to remain seated and went on to describe the Prince's advisers as "naïve and foolish at best." Farage continued: "How can somebody like Prince Charles be allowed to come to the European Parliament at this time to announce he thinks it should have more powers? It would have been better for the country he wants to rule one day if he had stayed home and tried to persuade Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
to give the people the promised referendum [on the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
]." The leader of the UK Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's MEPs, Gary Titley
Gary Titley
Gary Titley is a British politician and Labour Party Member of the European Parliament for the North West of England....
, accused Farage of anti-Royalism. Titley said: "I was embarrassed and disgusted when the Leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, remained firmly seated during the lengthy standing ovation Prince Charles received. I had not realised Mr Farage's blind adherence to right wing politics involved disloyalty and discourtesy to the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
. He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself and should apologise to the British people he represents."
Herman Van Rompuy
After the speech of Herman Van RompuyHerman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
on 24 February 2010 in the European parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, Farage—to protests from other MEPs—addressed the first long-term President of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
saying that he has the "charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of low grade bank clerk". Farage questioned the legitimacy of Van Rompuy's appointment asking "Who are you? I'd never heard of you, nobody in Europe had ever heard of you", he also asserted that Van Rompuy's "intention is to be the quiet assassin of European democracy and of European nation states." In the same speech he also referred to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the home of Van Rompuy, as a "non-country". Van Rompuy commented afterwards, "There was one contribution that I can only hold in contempt, but I'm not going to comment further." After refusing to apologise for behaviour that was, in the words of the President of the European Parliament
President of the European Parliament
The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...
, Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, "inappropriate, unparliamentary and insulting to the dignity of the House", Farage was reprimanded and had his right to ten days' allowance (expenses) rescinded.
The President of the European Parliament
President of the European Parliament
The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...
, Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, said after his meeting with Farage:
I defend absolutely Mr Farage's right to disagree about the policy or institutions of the Union, but not to personally insult our guests in the European Parliament or the country from which they may come. [. . .] I myself fought for free speech as the absolute cornerstone of a democratic society. But with freedom comes responsibility - in this case, to respect the dignity of others and of our institutions. I am disappointed by Mr Farage's behaviour, which sits ill with the great parliamentary tradition of his own country. I cannot accept this sort of behaviour in the European Parliament. I invited him to apologise, but he declined to do so. I have therefore - as an expression of the seriousness of the matter - rescinded his right to ten days' daily allowance as a Member.
Questioned by Camilla Long, Farage declared of his speech "it wasn't abusive, it was right."
European economic governance
He spoke of the EU being "German-dominated" in a speech at the European-Parliament on 18 November, 2011.Views on the euro
From taking office as a UKIP MEP in 1999 Farage has often voiced opposition to the "euroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
project". His argument is that "a one size fits all interest rate" cannot work for countries with structually different economies, often using the example of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to emphasise contrast. He predicted the need for 'bail outs' before European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
officials admitted that these steps would be necessary. Specifically, Farage predicted that Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
would all require such assistance. To date Spain is the only predicted country that has not asked for a 'bail out' but Farage warns: "You can ignore the markets if you want to, but in time the markets will not ignore you". Farage also reinforces Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's argument that Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
"should never have joined the euro" but he has not explicitly predicted the need for similar financial assistance in the case of Italy.
Farage predicts that if the situation continues it will lead to violence due to the peoples inability to "determine their own futures through the ballot box" as it will become the only "logical" tool to enable them to escape from their "economic prison" i.e. the Eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
. He proclaims "I can only hope and pray that the euro project is destroyed by the markets before that really happens."
Farage strongly opposes the use of 'bail outs' and claims that "buying your own debt with tax payers money" will not solve the problem and that, "if we do, the next debt crisis won't be a country", "it will be the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
itself".
Electoral performance
Nigel Farage has contested several elections under the United Kingdom Independence PartyUnited Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
banner:
- Itchen, Test and AvonItchen, Test and Avon (European Parliament constituency)Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
, European Parliament Election 1994 - 12,423 votes, representing 5.2% of total votes cast - Eastleigh by-election, 1994Eastleigh by-election, 1994The Eastleigh by-election, 1994 was a parliamentary by-election held on 9 June 1994 for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of Eastleigh in Hampshire. The seat had fallen vacant because of the death of Conservative Party Member of Parliament Stephen Milligan on 7 February.The result...
- 952, 1.4% - SalisburySalisbury (UK Parliament constituency)Salisbury is a county constituency centred on the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system....
, 1997 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1997The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
- 3,332, 5.7% - European Parliament election, 1999 - elected member for South East EnglandSouth East England (European Parliament constituency)South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
from party list - Bexhill and Battle, 2001 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2001The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
- 3,474, 7.8% - European Parliament election, 2004 - elected member for South East EnglandSouth East England (European Parliament constituency)South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
from party list - South Thanet, 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
- 2,079, 5.0% - Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006A by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst in London, following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. The writ for the electing of a new member was issued on 6 June for a polling day of 29 June 2006, the same day as the...
- 2,307, 8.0% - European Parliament election, 2009European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
- elected member for South East EnglandSouth East England (European Parliament constituency)South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
from party list. - BuckinghamBuckingham (UK Parliament constituency)Buckingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, 2010 general election - 8,410, 17.4%
External links
- Nigel Farage MEP Official website
- Nigel Farage Profile at European Parliament website
- UKIP MEPs Official website of the UK Independence Party in the European Parliament
- Europe of Freedom and Democracy Political group in the European Parliament