Neil Hamilton (politician)

Neil Hamilton
Official portrait, 2016
Honorary president of the UK Independence Party
Assumed office
13 May 2024
LeaderLois Perry
Nick Tenconi (interim)
Preceded byOffice created
Leader of the UK Independence Party
In office
12 September 2020[a] – 13 May 2024
DeputyRebecca Jane
Preceded byFreddy Vachha
Succeeded byLois Perry
Leader of UKIP Wales
In office
26 September 2016 – 13 April 2024
Leader
Preceded byNathan Gill
Succeeded byStan Robinson
Leader of the UK Independence Party in the Senedd
In office
7 November 2019 – 29 April 2021
Preceded byGareth Bennett
Succeeded byOffice abolished
In office
11 May 2016 – 17 May 2018
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byCaroline Jones
Deputy chair of the UK Independence Party
In office
4 August 2014 – 24 February 2016
Serving with Suzanne Evans
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byThe Earl of Dartmouth
Parliamentary under-secretary of state for corporate affairs
In office
14 April 1992 – 25 October 1994
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byJohn Redwood
Succeeded byJonathan Evans
Member of parliament
for Tatton
In office
9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byMartin Bell
Member of the Senedd
for Mid and West Wales
In office
5 May 2016 – 29 April 2021
Preceded byWilliam Powell
Succeeded byJane Dodds
Personal details
Born
Mostyn Neil Hamilton

(1949-03-09) 9 March 1949 (age 75)
Bedwellty, Caerphilly, Wales
Political partyUK Independence Party (2002–present)
Conservative (1964–2002)
Spouse
(m. 1983)
Residence(s)London, England
Wiltshire, England
Alma materAberystwyth University (BScEcon, MScEcon)
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (LL.M)[1]
ProfessionBarrister
WebsiteOfficial website

Mostyn Neil Hamilton (born 9 March 1949) is a British politician and former barrister who was leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2020 to 2024. He was the Conservative member of parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1983 to 1997 and a UKIP Member of the Senedd (MS) for Mid and West Wales from 2016 to 2021.

Hamilton was elected to the House of Commons in the 1983 general election. He was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state for corporate affairs by the prime minister, John Major, in 1992.

In 1994, The Guardian alleged that Hamilton had taken cash payments in exchange for asking questions in Parliament. Hamilton sued The Guardian for libel, but settled on the day of the trial. The Guardian published a headline branding him "A Liar and a Cheat". The cash-for-questions affair enquiry in 1997 found that Hamilton had taken bribes. He subsequently lost a libel case on the matter. Hamilton became widely associated with sleaze,[2] and was forced to resign his ministerial role. He was defeated by an independent candidate, Martin Bell, in the 1997 general election.

Hamilton left the Conservative Party in 2002 and joined UKIP. In 2011, he returned to politics and was elected to the national executive committee of UKIP. Following his election to the National Assembly for Wales, he was UKIP's assembly group leader from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2021. He became leader of UKIP Wales in 2016. In September 2020, Hamilton was named acting leader of UKIP, following the suspension from the party of the previous leader, Freddy Vachha. Hamilton was defeated at the 2021 Senedd election. In October 2021, Hamilton was elected UKIP leader.[3]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference whoswho was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sengupta, Kim (22 December 1999). "The Hamilton Affair: Fayed demolishes Hamilton in the sleaze trial of the century". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  3. ^ "UKIP: Ex-Conservative minister Neil Hamilton elected party leader". BBC News. 19 October 2021.