Neil Hamilton (politician)

Neil Hamilton
Official portrait, 2016
Leader of the UK Independence Party
In office 12 September 2020[a] – 13 May 2024
Deputy	Rebecca Jane
Preceded by	Freddy Vachha
Succeeded by	Lois Perry
Leader of UKIP Wales
In office 26 September 2016 – 13 April 2024
Leader	List Diane James Nigel Farage (acting) Paul Nuttall Steve Crowther (acting) Henry Bolton Gerard Batten Piers Wauchope (acting) Richard Braine Pat Mountain (acting) Freddy Vachha Himself
Preceded by	Nathan Gill
Succeeded by	Stan Robinson
Leader of the UK Independence Party in the Senedd
In office 7 November 2019 – 29 April 2021
Preceded by	Gareth Bennett
Succeeded by	Office abolished
In office 11 May 2016 – 17 May 2018
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Caroline Jones
Deputy Chair of the UK Independence Party
In office 4 August 2014 – 24 February 2016 Serving with Suzanne Evans
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	The Earl of Dartmouth
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs
In office 14 April 1992 – 25 October 1994
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	John Redwood
Succeeded by	Jonathan Evans
Member of Parliament for Tatton
In office 9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Martin Bell
Member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales
In office 5 May 2016 – 29 April 2021
Preceded by	William Powell
Succeeded by	Jane Dodds
Personal details
Born	Mostyn Neil Hamilton (1949-03-09) 9 March 1949 (age 75) Bedwellty, Caerphilly, Wales
Political party	UK Independence Party (2002–present) Conservative (1964–2002)
Spouse	Christine Holman ​ (m. 1983)​
Residence(s)	London, England Wiltshire, England
Alma mater	Aberystwyth University (BScEcon, MScEcon) Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (LL.M)[1]
Profession	Barrister
Website	Official 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 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.

He 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 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]

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