Roger Knapman
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Roger Maurice Knapman (born February 20, 1944) is a British politician, and is the current leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).
As a member of the Conservative Party, he was elected MP for Stroud in 1987. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the armed forces minister, Archibald Hamilton. He resigned from this position in order to oppose the Maastricht Treaty. He successfully defended his seat in the 1992 general election. In 1995 he became a government whip. In 1997, however, he lost his seat to the Labour candidate, David Drew.
Shortly afterwards, Knapman left the Conservative party to join the UKIP. He stood as their candidate in the 2001 general election for Devon North, coming fourth yet narrowly retaining his deposit.
He became party leader in 2002. In 2004 he was elected a member of the European Parliament for the South West England region.
He contested Totnes at the 2005 general election, coming 4th with 7.7% of the vote.
Before entering politics, Roger Knapman was a Chartered Surveyor. He is married with two children, and lives in Devon.
External link
- Official website (http://www.rogerknapmanmep.co.uk/)