Christopher John Fred Gill RD (born 28 October 1936) is a British politician, and a former member of the National Executive Committee of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...

(UKIP). He is the president of The Freedom Association (TFA). A former Conservative Party Member of Parliament, he was one of the Maastricht Rebels of the mid-1990s.

Biography

Gill was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, where he later became a local councillor, and was educated locally at Birchfield Preparatory School, then at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

. His national service was in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, serving aboard and . He retired as Chairman of his family's sausage-making business, F.A. Gill Ltd., in 2006. Gill served as Conservative MP for

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

from 1987 to 2001, when he stepped down. He was known as the "Butcher from Ludlow" because of his family company being a meat processing firm. He had the Conservative

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

withdrawn over the EC Finance Bill on 28 November 1994. As a constituency MP, Gill fought against the closure of local

cottage hospital A cottage hospital is a mostly obsolete type of small hospital, most commonly found in the United Kingdom. The original concept was a small rural building having several beds.The Cottage Hospitals 1859–1990, Dr. Meyrick Emrys-Roberts, Tern Publ ...

s. Gill was also known for being an expert on areas of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

legislation, and he was a notable

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

. Shortly before leaving Parliament in 2001, he resigned his membership of the Conservatives. In 2006, Gill announced that he had joined the

(UKIP), having endorsed the party's policies at the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elect ...

. He was an elected member of UKIP's National Executive Committee from 2007 until 2010. He stood for Ludlow as a UKIP candidate at the 2010 general election, coming fourth with 2,127 votes, 4.4% of the total, losing his deposit but almost tripling the 2005 vote. At the time of the election, Gill stated that his reasoning for standing was: "I am standing against 'call me Dave's' Tories because I cannot tolerate their utter contempt for the concerns of voters on matters of immigration, economy, individual liberty and the broken promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty."Former Tory MP to stand for UKIP in Ludlow
/ref> He was chairman of The Freedom Association from 2001, before becoming its president in 2007.

Publications

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Christopher 1936 births Living people Politicians from Wolverhampton Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Shrewsbury School Councillors in Wolverhampton Military personnel from Wolverhampton 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Royal Navy sailors UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Shropshire Members of the Freedom Association Conservative Party (UK) councillors British Eurosceptics