Tuesday 17 November 2009

#NF009* - FARAGE, Nigel Paul & WIKI Today

#NF009* - FARAGE, Nigel Paul & WIKI Today
Nigel Farage
Modern corrections including accuracy changes


Nigel Farage MEP

Incumbent
Assumed office
July 1999
Born 3 April 1964 (1964-04-03) (age 46)
Kent, UK
Political party United Kingdom Independence Party
Website www.NigelFarageMEP.co.uk

Nigel Paul Farage (born 3 April 1964 in Farnborough) is a British politician, and leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). He is also a member of the European Parliament for the South East. He co-chairs the European Parliament's Europe of Freedom and Democracy group. On 4 September 2009, it was announced Farage will resign as leader of UKIP.[1] He will however remain leader as: Lead spokesman, Leader of the UKIP MEPs, Leader of The Political Committee of one, Lead employer of the Press and Media Staff, Leader of UKIP in The EU, Lead Candidate in The General Election, UKIP Leader of the Pan EU Political Party (group) The EFD, Leader of the pro EU EFD, Leader of all employed staff, Leader of The Racist EFD, Leader of the anti Jewish EFD, Leader of the sexually intollerant EFD, Leader of the advocates of violence in the EFD and controller of the leadership election by ensuring his chosen puppet is elected with abuse of his position on National TV and unsubstantiated blackmail of the members by propaganda quotes on UKIP wb sites.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life and career
* 2 Leader of UKIP
* 3 Expenses disclosure
* 4 Controversies and whistleblowing
o 4.1 Jacques Barrot
o 4.2 José Manuel Barroso
o 4.3 Joseph Daul
o 4.4 Prince Charles
* 5 Electoral performance
* 6 Footnotes
* 7 References
* 8 External links

[edit] 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.

Active in the Conservative Party from his school days 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. He was elected to the European Parliament in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009. Farage is currently leader of the thirteen-member UKIP contingent in the European Parliament, and co-leader of the multinational eurosceptic group, Europe of Freedom and Democracy. He also contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency during the May 2006 by-election, organised after the Member of Parliament 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.

Farage married first, in 1988, Grainne Hayes, with whom he had two children, Samuel (born 1989) and Thomas (born 1991). In 1999 he married the German Kirsten Mehr, with whom he has a further two children, Victoria (born 2000) and Isabelle (born 2005).[2] Kirsten Farage has at various times been an employee of her husband paid from his allowances around £30,000per annum.
[edit] Leader of UKIP

On 12 September 2006, in a particularly dishonest and divisive leadership election Nigel Farage was elected leader of UKIP with 45% of the vote, 20% ahead of his nearest rival Richard Suchorzewski.[3] He pledged to bring discipline to the party and to maximise UKIP's representation in local, parliamentary and other elections.[citation needed] 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 (fifteen in all at this moment! but only 4 UKIP MEPs are listed!).

At his maiden speech, as leader, 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."[4]

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.[5]

In September 2009 he announced that he would stand against John Bercow, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons, in his Buckingham constituency in the Next United Kingdom general election, despite a convention, broken on previous occasions, as when Labour stood against Sir Bernard Weatherall, that the speaker is outside of party politics, and not challenged for re-election.[6]

In October 2009, he was ranked 41st (out of 100) in the Daily Telegraph Top 100 most influential right-wingers poll, citing his media savvy and his success with UKIP in the European Elections. [7]





{{Infobox Politician
|image=Nigel Farage of UKIP.jpg
| name=Nigel Farage [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]]
| width=280px
| constituency_MP = [[South East England (European Parliament constituency)|the South East]]
| parliament = European
| majority =
| term_start = July 1999
| birth_date={{birth date and age|1964|4|3|df=y}}
| birth_place=[[Kent]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]
| party=[[United Kingdom Independence Party]]
| website=[http://www.nigelfaragemep.co.uk www.NigelFarageMEP.co.uk]
| footnotes =
}}


'''Nigel Paul Farage''' (born [[3 April]] [[1964]] in [[Farnborough, London|Farnborough]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] politician, and leader of the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]] (UKIP). He is also a [[member of the European Parliament]] for [[South East England (European Parliament constituency)|the South East]]. He co-chairs the European Parliament's [[Europe of Freedom and Democracy]] group. On 4 September 2009, it was announced Farage will resign as leader of UKIP.[http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1229-farage-to-quit-as-ukip-leader Farage to quit as UKIP Leader], UKIP website, Retrieved 4 September, 2009


==Early life and career==
Farage was educated at [[Dulwich College]] before joining a commodity [[broker]]age firm in [[London]]. He ran his own brokerage business from the early 1990s until 2002.


Active in the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] from his school days 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. He was elected to the [[European Parliament]] in [[European Parliament election, 1999|1999]] and re-elected in [[European Parliament election, 2004|2004]] and [[European Parliament election, 2009|2009]]. Farage is currently 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]]. He also contested the [[Bromley and Chislehurst (UK Parliament constituency)|Bromley & Chislehurst]] constituency during the [[Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, 2006|May 2006 by-election]], organised after the [[Member of Parliament]] representing it, the eurosceptic Conservative [[Eric Forth]], died. He scored third, winning 8% of the vote, thus beating the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] candidate. This was the second-best by-election result recorded by UKIP out of 25 results.


Farage married first, in 1988, Grainne Hayes, with whom he had two children, Samuel (born 1989) and Thomas (born 1991). In 1999 he married the [[Germany|German]] Kirsten Mehr, with whom he has a further two children, Victoria (born 2000) and Isabelle (born 2005).{{cite web|last=Watts |first=Robert |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/11/nukip11.xml |title=Making plans with Nigel |publisher=Telegraph |date=2007-03-11 |accessdate=2009-06-08}}


==Leader of UKIP==
On 12 September 2006, Nigel Farage was [[United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election, 2006|elected leader of UKIP]] with 45% of the vote, 20% ahead of his nearest rival.[http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=2526 ]{{Dead link|date=June 2009}} He pledged to bring discipline to the party and to maximise UKIP's representation in local, parliamentary and other elections.{{Fact|date=June 2009}} In a [[PM (Radio 4)|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 Party (UK)|Labour]], [[Liberal Democrats|Lib Dem]] and [[Conservative Party (UK)|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."{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5415252.stm?ls |title=Politics | UKIP 'voice of British majority' |publisher=BBC News |date=2006-10-07 |accessdate=2009-06-08}}


At 10pm on 19 October 2006, Farage took part in a three-hour live interview and phone-in with [[James Whale (radio)|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 [[London mayoral election, 2008|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]].[http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=2687 ]{{Dead link|date=June 2009}}


In September 2009 he announced that he would stand against [[John Bercow]], the newly elected [[Speaker of the House of Commons]], in his [[Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency)|Buckingham constituency]] in the [[Next United Kingdom general election]], despite a convention that the speaker is outside of party politics, and not challenged for re-election.{{cite web|title=Farage to stand against Speaker|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8235626.stm|date=3 September 2009|accessdate=3 September 2009|publisher=BBC News Online}}


In October 2009, he was ranked 41st (out of 100) in the [[Daily Telegraph]] Top 100 most influential right-wingers poll, citing his media savvy and his success with UKIP in the European Elections.
{{cite web|title=Daily Telegraph|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/6256390/Top-100-most-influential-Right-wingers-50-1.html|date=3 September 2009|accessdate=5 October 2009|publisher=Daily Telegraph}}


==Expenses disclosure==


In May 2009, [[The Guardian]] 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 and spent nearly £2 million of taxpayers' money in expenses and allowances, on top of his £64,000 a year salary.{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/24/mps-expenses-ukip-nigel-farage |title=Ukip leader boasts of his £2m in expenses | Politics | The Observer |publisher=Guardian |date= |accessdate=2009-06-08}}


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"{{cite web|url=http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1053-mcshane-misses-the-point-on-expenses |title=McShane misses the point on expenses - UK Independence Party |publisher=Ukip.org |date=2009-05-19 |accessdate=2009-06-08}}, pointing out that the money was for expenses, 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."{{cite web|url=http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/1068-mep-expense-spotlight-turns-focus-to-eu |title=MEP expense spotlight turns focus to EU - UK Independence Party |publisher=Ukip.org |date=2009-05-25 |accessdate=2009-06-08}}