Nikki Sinclaire

Nikki Sinclaire MEP
Member of the European Parliament for West Midlands region
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 June 2009
Personal details
Born	26 July 1968 (1968-07-26) (age 43)
Website	yourmep.org

Nicole Sinclaire (born 26 July 1968 in London)^[1] is a European politician from the United Kingdom and is a current MEP.

Educated at the University of Canterbury graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) qualification. Sinclaire has worked for Lloyds as a 'problem troubleshooter' was employed as a Gateway store manager and worked in Cyprus in the hospitality sector. Managed the UK Independence Party Head Office in London (1999-2001) and was political assistant and advisor to Mike Nattrass MEP for the West Midlands (2004-2009) before becoming an MEP in June 2009, elected from second place on the UKIP Party list.

She has extensive campaign experience for the party, having stood for election at both a Westminster and local level. At the 2001 General Election she was the campaign manager for the three Kent constituencies of Medway, Gillingham and Chatham & Aylesford and was responsible for the West Midlands regional campaign during the 2009 European Elections. Having raised significant funds for the party through the UKIP lottery, she has also campaigned abroad, most notably in the United States, assisting on campaigns for US Representative Susan Davis and Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Politically, she is likely to favour 'Small Government' and 'Individual Responsibility', has also stated that Margaret Thatcher is the reason that she got involved in politics. In terms of Europe, she favours a relationship of trade and friendship only and is particularly keen to get the Eurosceptic message across to young people. Said to be a strong willed personality who is unafraid of expressing her views. She quit the UKIP European parliamentary group Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) in January 2010 concerned with some of their views. In response to this, she later had the UKIP whip withdrawn in March 2010. However she remains a party member.

Biography

UKIP activist

Sinclaire held many positions within UKIP including Head Office Manager (1999–2001), member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Party Secretary under the leadership of Roger Knapman. In the 2009 European Parliament Elections she was elected as a UKIP MEP for the West Midlands region.

In 2001 she was disqualified from the NEC, shortly after being elected due to the party changing the constitution, by Returning Officer and Party Treasurer John de Roeck.^{[citation needed]} In 2003, representing herself, she took UKIP to the High Court, successfully overturning her disqualification to the NEC.^{[citation needed]} In 2004 she became Party Secretary, a position which she later resigned to become Political Adviser to Mike Nattrass MEP.^{[citation needed]}

Sinclaire stood for Parliament twice as a UKIP candidate: in Medway 2001 and Halesowen and Rowley Regis in 2005.

During the 2005 UK general election campaign Sinclaire stood as the UKIP candidate for Halesowen & Rowley Regis, more than doubling the previous vote. Although Sinclaire was arrested after refusing to leave a public debate, "Queer Question Time" (to discuss issues related to the gay community).^[2] Her arrest sparked street protests by UKIP members and the public and she was released without charge a few hours later.^[3]

In October 2008, it was reported that Sinclaire briefly met Baroness Thatcher at a Bruges Group dinner. Sinclaire told Thatcher that she would be standing as an MEP candidate for the UK Independence Party in the West Midlands. According to the BBC report, Lady Thatcher replied "Good for you. Never give up, never give up".^[4]

Election as MEP

In June 2009, Sinclaire won (with 21.3% of votes) ^[5] her seat in the European Parliament.

On 11 September 2009, Sinclaire announced she would stand in the 2009 UKIP leadership election.^[6] The decision to stand followed UKIP leader Nigel Farage's announcement on Friday 4 September that he would stand down to stand in The General Election against John Bercow in Buckinghamshire where he came third. Malcolm Lord Pearson was Farage's endorsed replacement and in the leadership ballot he won with Sinclaire coming third with a respectable 1,214 votes.^{[citation needed]}

Member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (2009-). Member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights (2009-). Substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2009-). Substitute member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (2009-). Independent member (March 2010-).

Expulsion from UKIP

In January 2010, Sinclaire resigned from the Europe of Freedom and Democracy grouping in the European Parliament, to which UKIP belongs, citing her displeasure at what she claims to be some of the racist, extremist parties that belong to the EFD Group. She also cited a deterioration of her relationship with Nigel Farage, who is co-leader of the EFD group.^[7]

Sinclaire was subsequently expelled from UKIP for refusing to be part of the EFD group,^[8] On its website, UKIP stated:^[9]

"She has also proved unable to collaborate adequately with the voluntary party in the UK, particularly with the regional committee in the West Midlands. The national executive committee has therefore removed the whip; Nikki Sinclaire may no longer describe herself as a UKIP MEP, and she may not stand as a UKIP candidate in the forthcoming general election."

After UKIP

Sinclaire stood in the 2010 general election in Meriden. She used the label 'Solihull and Meriden Residents Association', and was endorsed by the Libertarian Party. Amongst her opponents was a candidate officially endorsed by UKIP.^[10] She won 1.3% of the vote, against 2.6% for the UKIP candidate.^[11]

Electoral history

Year	Constituency	Party	Votes	%	±%
2001	Medway	UKIP	958	2.5	+1.6
2005	Halesowen and Rowley Regis	UKIP	1,974	4.8	+2.4
2009 (European)	West Midlands	UKIP	300,471	21.3	+3.8
2010	Meriden	Solihull and Meriden Residents' Association	658	1.3	N/A

Personal life

In 2004, Sinclaire outed herself as gay in a letter to gay newspaper The Pink Paper.^[12] Sinclaire has however stated that she had no desire to be the leader of a LGBT group within UKIP.^[12]

References

1. ^ "Nicole Sinclaire". European Parliament. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/geoSearch/view.do?country=GB&partNumber=1&zone=West+Midlands&language=EN&id=96960. Retrieved 15 January 2010. 
2. ^ Result: Halesowen & Rowley Regis
3. ^ Protest after candidate arrested
4. ^ Thatcher relives Bruges heyday
5. ^ "European elections 2009 results map". The Daily Telegraph (London). 8 June 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/5472207/European-elections-2009-results-map.html. 
6. ^ "UKIP leadership: Runners and riders", BBC News, 19 November 2009
7. ^ "Rebel Euro MP Nikki Sinclaire expelled by UKIP". BBC. 4 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8550698.stm. 
8. ^ "Rebel Euro MP Nikki Sinclaire expelled by UKIP". BBC News. 4 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8550698.stm. Retrieved 14 March 2010. 
9. ^ UKIP website
10. ^ http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/SOPN.pdf
11. ^ "Meriden". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c85.stm. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Foggo, Daniel (29 August 2004). "I won't be your leader, 6ft 4in lesbian tells UKIP's gay members". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1470463/I-wont-be-your-leader-6ft-4in-lesbian-tells-UKIPs-gay-members.html. 

External links

• Official Website
• Profile at European Parliament website

Persondata
Name	Sinclaire, Nikki
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 July 1968
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death