Nikki Sinclaire
Nicole Sinclaire (born 26 July 1968)[1] is a British former politician who was leader of the We Demand a Referendum Party,[2] and served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 2009 to 2014.[3]
Nikki Sinclaire
Office created
Office abolished
Neena Gill
26 July 1968
London, England
We Demand a Referendum (2012–14)
UK Independence Party (until 2010)
She was elected MEP in June 2009, as a UK Independence Party candidate but later resigned from the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group in which UKIP sat as a part in the European Parliament, citing the alleged extreme right-wing views of some of the group's members, including outspoken views condemning homosexuals and migrants. Subsequently, Sinclaire sat as an Independent MEP from January 2010 until September 2012, during which time she set up the We Demand a Referendum party.[4] She was defeated in the 2014 elections, saying in a statement on her website: "my employers have spoken, and it would seem I have been unsuccessful in my attempt to be re-elected as an MEP for the West Midlands region."[5]
Sinclaire was the first ever trans British parliamentarian.
Early life[edit]
Sinclaire was born in London[1] and educated at the University of Kent at Canterbury, read for a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. She has worked for Lloyds Black Horse Life as a 'problem troubleshooter', was employed as a Gateway store manager, and worked in Cyprus in the hospitality sector. She was a Conservative before joining UKIP.[6]
Political career[edit]
UKIP years[edit]
Sinclaire's UKIP posts included Head Office Manager (1999–2001), member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), and Party Secretary under the leadership of Roger Knapman.
In 2001, she was disqualified from the NEC, shortly after being elected. In 2003, representing herself, she took UKIP to the High Court, successfully overturning her disqualification. In 2004, she became Party Secretary, a position which she left to become political assistant and advisor to Mike Nattrass, MEP for the West Midlands (2004–09).
Sinclaire stood for the UK Parliament twice as a UKIP candidate: in Medway in 2001 and in Halesowen and Rowley Regis in 2005. At the 2001 general election, she was the party's campaign manager for the three Kent constituencies of Medway, Gillingham, and Chatham & Aylesford.
During the 2005 general election campaign, Sinclaire stood as the UKIP candidate for Halesowen & Rowley Regis, more than doubling the previous UKIP vote. She was arrested after refusing to leave a public debate, "Queer Question Time" (to discuss issues related to the gay community)[7] but was released without charge a few hours later.[8]
In October 2008, it was reported that Sinclaire briefly met Baroness Thatcher at a Bruges Group dinner. Sinclaire told Thatcher that she would be standing as an MEP candidate for the UK Independence Party in the West Midlands. According to the BBC report, Thatcher replied "Good for you. Never give up, never give up".[9]
She has also campaigned abroad, most notably in the United States, assisting on campaigns for US Representative Susan Davis, a Democrat, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.
Allegations of fraud, misconduct[edit]
On 22 February 2012, Sinclaire was arrested along with three other people; two women aged 55 and 39, as well as a 19-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the European Parliament following an inquiry into an allegation made in 2010, concerning allowances and expenses.[47][48] Sinclaire denied all the charges, cooperated with the police, and while the investigation was in process would only state that it was tied to a disgruntled employee who was themselves the subject of a similar investigation.[47] On 23 July 2014, she was charged with money laundering, contrary to Sections 327 or 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and misconduct in public office, contrary to Common Law, relating to European Parliament travel expenses, in a period between October 2009 and July 2010.[49]
In the Court case subsequent to Sinclaire's office manager John Ison having been cautioned by the judge that he was incriminating himself and when it was shown in open court that John Ison was colluding with Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP, on 11 July 2016, the jury in Sinclaire's trial found her not guilty on all counts.
Sinclaire criticised the West Midlands Police investigation as a 'Vanity Case' as it cost £1.5 million to pursue the case regarding a sum of £3,200 that Sinclaire was alleged to have fraudulently claimed.[50]
Personal life[edit]
Sinclaire was assigned male at birth, but felt she was "trapped in the wrong body" from the age of three. At 16, Sinclaire was told by a doctor that these feelings were a "fantasy";[51] she was also told that she could not undergo gender reassignment surgery until the age of 21.[52] Sinclaire took hormone replacement therapy,[52][53] prior to beginning surgery at the age of 23.[51] Sinclaire publicly spoke about her gender identity in November 2013,[52] making her the first openly transgender Parliamentarian in the UK.[54]
In 2004, Sinclaire came out as lesbian in a letter to the LGBT newspaper The Pink Paper.[55] However, she stated that she had no desire to be the leader of an LGBT group within UKIP.[55]