Timothy Kirkhope

Timothy Kirkhope MEP
Deputy Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
In office 2009 – Incumbent
Leader of the Conservative Party in the European Parliament
In office 2008 – 23 November 2010
Preceded by	Philip Bushill-Matthews
Succeeded by	Martin Callanan
In office 2004–2007
Preceded by	Jonathan Evans
Succeeded by	Giles Chichester
Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 June 1999
Member of Parliament for Leeds North East
In office 11 June 1987 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Keith Joseph
Succeeded by	Fabian Hamilton
Personal details
Born	29 April 1945 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Profession	Solicitor
Website	http://www.kirkhope.org.uk/

Video Introduction

Timothy John Robert Kirkhope (born 29 April 1945) is a British lawyer and politician, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. Between December 2004 and November 2010 he was leader of the Conservative delegation for a total of 6 years. He is the Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel's Europe grouping, the European Conservatives Spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs, and a member of the European Parliament's U.S Delegation. He holds a pilot's license, collects classic cars, swims and plays tennis. He is married and has 4 grown up sons. He lives near Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

Biography

Kirkhope was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and educated at the independent Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and subsequently at the Law Society College of Law in Guildford before qualifying as a Solicitor in 1973. He was a Senior Partner in Newcastle law firm Wilkinson Marshall Clayton and Gibson (now part of Eversheds) until election to Parliament in 1987. He still maintains a Solicitors Practising Certificate.

In 1982 he was elected to Northumberland County Council for one term and served as a Director of Newcastle Airport. He obtained his Private Pilot’s Licence in 1983. He was very active in the Free Radio movement and a co-author of the Conservatives proposals for commercial radio in the late 1960s. He was then part of a consortium bidding for one of the first commercial radio licenses when they became available. He has a strong interest in Hospital Broadcasting having been the Chairman of Radio Tyneside for some years, and has maintained his links with that organisation. He was also very active in charitable work for the Macmillan Cancer Relief organization in Newcastle and the Family Service Unit movement.

Parliament

Kirkhope first stood for Parliament for Durham at the February 1974 General Election, but was beaten by the Labour incumbent Mark Hughes, although the voting swing in the constituency was surprisingly one of the biggest towards the Conservatives in th UK, at the "Miners" elections. In 1979 he contested Darlington, but was narrowly defeated by Labour's Ted Fletcher.

At the 1987 general election, Kirkhope followed Sir Keith Joseph as the Member of Parliament for Leeds North East. He was made Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Trippier at the Department of the Environment in 1989. In the same year, he introduced and saw passed a private members' bill (the Parking Act 1989) which was designed to help motorists use new methods like debit cards to pay for their parking needs. He became a Government Assistant Whip in 1990, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury in 1992, and Vice-Chamberlain of the Household in 1995 reporting on the business of the House of Commons directly to HM The Queen.

In October 1995 Kirkhope received a promotion to be Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department at the Home Office responsible for immigration, border controls, gambling and licensing policy, and horseracing, among other things.. He was defeated at the 1997 general election, his constituency attracting some interest because its majority had placed it at the point where a Labour gain would indicate that the party was likely to win an overall majority which it did. Kirkhope returned to legal practice and also went into business. He was a non-executive director of the Bournemouth and West Hants Water Company for some years, and then more recently has been a member of the board of a company pension trust.

European Parliament

In June 1999 he was elected to the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber becoming the Conservative spokesman on justice and home affairs and the Chief Whip of the delegation that year. He also served on the Culture, Media, Arts Education and Youth Committee between 1999 and 2002. In 2002 he became the Conservative Party representative on the Convention on the Future of Europe, established to consider the future course for Europe. In 2002, he was re-selected by Conservative members in Yorkshire and The Humber to head the list of candidates in the European elections in June 2004.

In spring 2003, Kirkhope was asked by the then Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin to look into the workings of the UK asylum system and to make proposals for future party policy. The Kirkhope Commission worked for several months and produced a comprehensive report with 20 specific recommendations.

In July 2004, Kirkhope was elected as the first Vice-Chairman of the EPP/European Democrats, with which the UK Conservatives were in alliance at the time. After the success of his Asylum Commission, he was asked to head another commission on immigration. The report that followed was presented to the then Shadow Home Secretary David Davis during the summer of 2004. In December 2004, Kirkhope was elected Leader of the Conservative Delegation in the European Parliament. He was defeated in the Leadership election in November 2007 but was re-elected a year later after his immediate successor, Giles Chichester, was mired in a scandal over parliamentary expenses. During his total of 6 years as the leader of the delegation Kirkhope sat on the Conservative Party Board in London.

In June 2009 Kirkhope helped to set up (with the Rt. Hon. William Hague) and became the interim chairman of the new European Parliament group the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) of which the UK Conservatives became founding members moving from their alliance with the EPP. He was a candidate to become the permanent chairman of the bloc but he chose to step aside for Polish MEP Michał Kamiński after Kamiński was denied one of the Vice President of the European Parliament positions by then-Conservative Edward McMillan-Scott deciding to stand as an Independent without the support of his delegation or the new group. Kirkhope was appointed deputy chairman of the ECR Group by Kamiński in return for his gesture. He stood again for the presidency after Kamiński stepped down 2 years later but was controversially defeated by Martin Callanan. Further steps to assume a leading role in the group were rebuffed.

Kirkhope continues as Justice and Home Affairs spokesman with interests in the USA delegation and was re-appointed to these roles following the 2014 European Elections where he again led the Party list in Yorkshire and the Humber.

External links

• Official website (biography)
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Timothy Kirkhope
• Profile at European Parliament website
• Profile at MiCandidate
• "EU to vote on CIA flights report" -- BBC News article quoting Kirkhope