Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage, MEP

Nigel Farage (born 03 April 1964, Farnborough) is a British MEP for South East from UK Independence Party.

On 8 May 2015, having failed to be elected at Thanet South in the UK General Election, Nigel Farage resigned as the leader of UKIP.

On 12 May 2015, Nigel Farage suggested he could contest a by-election in a Labour-held seat after deciding to stay on as UKIP leader. Farage had promised to quit if he failed to win a seat at the General Election, but had his resignation rejected by his party. He told BBC Radio 5 live:

"I would look forward to a by-election in a Labour seat very much indeed."

He also said he had sat in a "darkened room" before deciding to continue. Nigel Farage failed to be elected in South Thanet, losing out to the Conservative candidate. He had said he would be "for the chop" if he lost out. Speaking to the BBC at the European Parliament in Brussels, he said he had kept his word but was "persuaded to change his mind" by "overwhelming support" from UKIP's National Executive Committee:

"I resigned. I said I'd resign. I turned up to the NEC meeting with letter in hand fully intending to carry that through," he said. "They unanimously said they didn't want me to do that, they presented me with petitions, signatures, statements from candidates saying it would be a bad thing for UKIP. So I left the meeting, went and sat in darkened room to think about what to do, and decided for the interest of the party I would accept their kind offer for me to stay and tear up the letter."

Farage also said UKIP's "greatest potential" was among Labour voters in the Midlands and the north of England.

Affiliations

• Member, Conference of Presidents
• Member, Committee on Fisheries

Former Affiliations

• Member, Conference of Presidents
• Substitute, Committee on Fisheries

Record and Controversies

Declaration of Financial Interests

Paid Functions or Activities:

• Journalism
• Commodity Banking

Support Received in Connection with Political Activities:

• Financial: Office provided free of rent - granted by J. Longhurst

Further Information:

• Employment of Kirsten Farage

Former Declaration of Financial Interests

Paid Functions or Activities:

• Journalism
• Commodity Banking

Support Received in Connection with Political Activities:

• In terms of staff: granted by J.Longhurst
• In terms of material: Office accommodation free of rent

Record of Parliamentary Votes

• Abstained from voting the directive on "establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy" (A5-0027/2000). The directive covers all water management aspects in order to achieve a 'good status' of all waters by 2015.
• Abstained from voting the directive on "national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants" (A5-0063/2000). The amendment allows setting less ambitious national emission ceilings for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), which would result in more damage to human health and the environment.
• Voted against the directive on "waste electrical and electronic equipment" (A5-0100/2002). The amendment sets higher reuse and recycling rates for IT and telecommunication equipment. Rejected due to lack of absolute majority.
• Abstained from voting the report on "Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network" (A5-0135/2002). The Trans-European Network of Transport (TEN-T) is a network of so-called 'transport corridors' through Europe. This amendment calls for a full Strategic Environmental Assessment of these transport corridors and calls on the Commission to improve methods for analysing the environmental and economic impact of the TEN-T.
• Voted against the regulation concerning "traceability and labelling of genetically modified organisms and traceability of food and feed products produced from genetically modified organisms" (A5-0229/2002). The amendment allows customers the right to choose GM free food.
• Voted against the directive on "environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage" (A5-0145/2003). According to the amendment, polluters have to pay for environmental clean-up, and it supports an EU-wide regime which makes polluters liable for the damage they cause to wildlife, water and land.
• Voted against the directive on restructuring the "Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity" (A5-0302/2003). The amendment aims at giving tax benefits to environmentally friendly sources of energy, which would make them cheaper and more competitive to conventional (more polluting) sources of energy. It also gives tax benefits to environmentally friendly uses of energy for transport, for instance trains. Rejected due to lack of absolute majority.

Personal Information

Curriculum Vitae

• Secondary education. Has worked for British, French and American companies operating in the commodity markets, especially the London Metal Exchange (since 1982).
• In the UK Independence Party:

National Chairman (1998-2000);

Chairman of the European Election Committee (2002-2004);

Chairman, South East Counties (since 1999);

National spokesman (since 2000).

• Member of the European Parliament (since 1999).
• Vice-Chairman of the EDD Group (1999-2004).

Contact

Address:

Parlement européen

Bât. Altiero Spinelli

04F158

60, rue Wiertz / Wiertzstraat 60

B-1047 Bruxelles/Brussel

Phone:

+32 (0)2 28 45855

Fax:

+32 (0)2 28 49855

Email:

nigel.farage AT europarl.europa.eu

Resources

• European Parliament, Declaration of Members' Financial Interests: Nigel Farage, 22 February 2008, accessed 08 February 2009.
• European Parliament, Declaration of Members' Financial Interests: Nigel Farage, 16 July 2009, accessed 04 November 2009.
• European Parliament, MEP Directory: Nigel Farage, accessed 08 February 2009.
• Friends of the Earth, EU Vote Watch, accessed 07 February 2009.