Nigel Paul Farage (born 3 April 1964 in Farnborough, Kent) is a British politician, and leader of the eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party. He is also a member of the European Parliament for South East England. The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced ) is a British political party. ... is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Roger Maurice Knapman (born 20 February 1944 in Crediton, Devon) is a British politician, and is the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). ... The constituency within England. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced ) is a British political party. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... , Farnborough is a place in the London Borough of Bromley. ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a desire to preserve national sovereignty. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced ) is a British political party. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... The constituency within England. ...

Early life and career

Farage was educated at Dulwich College before joining a commodity brokerage firm in London. He ran his own brokerage business from the early 1990s until 2002, and is now in partnership with his brother. Dulwich New College buildings. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

Active in the Conservative Party from his schooldays until the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1990, he left the party in 1992 when John Major's government signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht. He became a founding member of UKIP in 1993 and has contested UK parliamentary elections for UKIP five times, retaining his deposit on every occasion. He was elected to the European Parliament in 1999 and re-elected in 2004. Farage is currently leader of the ten-member UKIP contingent in the European Parliament, and co-leader of the multinational eurosceptic group, Independence and Democracy. He also contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency during the May 2006 by-election, organised after the MP representing it, the eurosceptic Conservative Eric Forth, died. He scored third, winning 8% of the vote, thus beating the Labour Party candidate. This was the second-best by-election result recorded by UKIP out of 25 results. The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ... The Maastricht treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993. ... Coordinates: , Country Province Area (2006)  - Municipality 60. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Gérard Onesta (Greens – EFA) Edward McMillan-Scott (ED) Mario Mauro (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (PES) Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) Mechtild... The 1999 election was the first election for the European Parliament after the enlargement of the European Union with Austria, Finland and Sweden. ... Elections to the European Parliament were held from June 10, 2004 to June 13, 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ... IND/DEM logo The Independence and Democracy (IND/DEM) group, formed July 20, 2004 is a euro-sceptic political group with 36 MEPs in the European Parliament. ... A by-election has been called for the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst, in London, following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... The Right Honourable Michael Eric Forth (born September 9, 1944, Glasgow) is the British Conservative Member of Parliament for Bromley & Chislehurst, having previously been Member of Parliament for Mid-Worcestershire from 1983 to 1997. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ...

Farage is married to second wife Kirsten, who is German, and they have four children. [1]

Leader of UKIP

On 12 September 2006, Nigel Farage was elected leader of Ukip with 45% of the vote, 20% ahead of his nearest rival[2]. 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). PM is an early evening (PM at five PM) news magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. ... old Radio 4 logo BBC Radio 4 is a UK domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Better Off Out is the name of a campaign run by the Freedom Association to call for Britains withdrawal from the European Union. ...

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." [3] Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, is a liberal political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had already been in an alliance for seven years prior to this, since not long... The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ...

At 10 p.m. 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 Gerrard Batten.[4]. Michael Whale, better known as James Whale is a British radio and television broadcaster, born on 13 May 1951 in Ewell, Surrey, England). ... talkSPORT is one of the United Kingdoms three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a commercial sports and talk radio service from London to the United Kingdom. ... 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. ...

Controversies and whistleblowing

Jacques Barrot controversy

On 18 November 2004, he announced in the European Parliament that Jacques Barrot, 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 [5], the prohibition in question only applies to French officials in the course of their duties ^[1]. The president of the Parliament, Josep Borrell, enjoined him to retract his comments under threat of "legal consequences" [6]. 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.[7] 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. is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jacques Barrot Jacques Barrot (born 3 February 1937 in Yssingeaux, Haute-Loire) is a French politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Transport. ... “Chirac” redirects here. ... Look up Amnesty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (born April 24, 1947) is a Spanish politician. ...

José Barroso controversy

During the spring of 2005, Farage requested that the European Commission 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 Barroso had spent a week on the yacht of the Greek shipping billionaire Spiro Latsis. It emerged soon afterwards that this had occurred only a month before the Commission approved 10.3 million euro of Greek state aid for Latsis' shipping company.[8] It also became known that Peter Mandelson, a member of the Commission, had accepted a trip to Jamaica from an unrevealed source.[9] Berlaymont, the Commissions seat The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. ... Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer company. ... José Manuel Duroso Barrão, GCC (pronounced: IPA,  ) (born in Lisbon, March 23, 1956) is a Portuguese politician and the 11th President of the European Commission. ... Spiro Latsis is a Greek businessman and one of the worlds richest people, in 2006 ranked 51st by Forbes on the Worlds Billionaires list at US$9. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

Farage persuaded around 75 MEPs from across the political spectrum 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.[10] The motion was successfully tabled on 12 May 2005, and Barroso appeared before Parliament [11] 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. Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (EPP) Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) Gérard Onesta (Greens – EFA) Edward McMillan-Scott (ED) Mario Mauro (EPP) Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (PES) Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) Mechtild... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Roger Helmer (born January 25, 1944 in London) is a British politician and an Independent Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands region. ... The European Peoples Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats is a group in the European Parliament. ... Prof. ...

Joseph Daul controversy

In January 2007, the French farmers' leader Joseph Daul was elected the new leader of the European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP-ED), the European Parliamentary grouping which includes 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." [12]. 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. Joseph Daul (born 13 April 1947 in Strasbourg) is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament for the East of France. ... The European Peoples Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats is a group in the European Parliament. ...

Prince Charles controversy

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 change. During the standing ovation that followed, Farage was only MEP to remain seated and went on to describe the Prince's advisers as "naive 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." [13] Prince Charles may refer to: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, current heir-apparent to the British throne Any of the previous British royals named Charles, Prince of Wales The former Belgian regent, Prince Charles of Belgium This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 450,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ... For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Treaty of Lisbon (disambiguation). ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Gary Titley is a British politician, currently leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) and Labour Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North West of England. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... Members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony The British Royal Family is shared between the Commonwealth Realms; this article focuses on the perspective of United Kingdom. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ The prohibition contained in the French penal code against mentioning crimes covered by an amnesty only concerns French officials who may hear of such crimes in the course of their duties (CP L133-11), and does not apply generally (L133-10).

Electoral performance

Farage has contested several elections under the United Kingdom Independence Party banner: The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced ) is a British political party. ...

• Itchen, Test and Avon, European Parliament Election 1994 - 12,423 votes, representing 5.2% of total votes cast
• Eastleigh by-election, 1994 - 952, 1.4%
• Salisbury, 1997 general election - 3,332, 5.7%
• European Parliament Election 1999 - elected member for South East England from party list
• Bexhill and Battle, 2001 general election - 3,474, 7.8%
• European Parliament Election 2004 - elected member for South East England from party list
• South Thanet, 2005 general election - 2,079, 5.0%
• Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006 - 2,307, 8.0%

In the 2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, Farage came third, ahead of the Labour Party candidate. This was the first time since the Bermondsey by-election, 1983, that a party in government had been pushed into fourth place in a parliamentary by-election on mainland Britain. The European Parliament Election, 1994 was the fourth European election to be held in the United Kingdom. ... A by-election was held for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of Eastleigh on 9 June 1994. ... Salisbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ... The 1999 election was the first election for the European Parliament after the enlargement of the European Union with Austria, Finland and Sweden. ... The constituency within England. ... Bexhill and Battle is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... Elections to the European Parliament were held from June 10, 2004 to June 13, 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ... The constituency within England. ... Creation 1983 MP Stephen Ladyman Party Labour Type House of Commons County Kent EP constituency South East England South Thanet is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. ... A by-election has been called for 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 Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Bermondsey byelection of February 24, 1983 occurred after the resignation of Robert Mellish, who had represented the constituency and its predecessors since 1946. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Nigel Farage

• Official website
• Profile at European Parliament website
• Political group at the European Parliament http://indemgroup.org/
• UKIPWatch website

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References

• James Whale of Talksport radio interviews the newly elected Leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage
• 2002 amnesty law
• Penal Code, articles L133-9, L133-10, L133-11
• United Kingdom Election Results