United Kingdom Independence Party

The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced "you-kip") is a Eurosceptic political party that aims at British withdrawal from the European Union. The current party leader is Roger Knapman, MEP for South West England. In the 1990s, Knapman was a Conservative MP and Whip, who lost his seat in the 1997 elections.

Related Topics:
Eurosceptic - British - European Union - MEP - 1990s - Conservative - MP - Whip - 1997 elections

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In the most recent European Parliament elections, the party's profile was raised substantially in April and May 2004 by the surprise candidacy of former Labour Party MP and chat show host Robert Kilroy-Silk. However, in January 2005 Kilroy-Silk headed a breakaway movement which formed a new party, Veritas, led by himself and with a broadly similar political outlook.

Related Topics:
Labour Party - MP - Robert Kilroy-Silk - 2005 - Veritas

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UKIP has about thirty five local councillors, many of whom are defectors from other parties. In the 2004 elections it picked up two seats in the London Assembly (Damian Hockney and Peter Hulme-Cross; both of whom later defected to Veritas), and 12 in the European Parliament.

Related Topics:
London Assembly - Damian Hockney - Peter Hulme-Cross - Veritas - European Parliament

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