Graham Harry Booth (29 March 1940 – 14 December 2011) was a British

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 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

(UKIP) politician who served as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

(MEP) for

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

from 2002 to 2008. Booth was born in

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paign ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School. Before he entered politics, he was a businessman in the building and tourism trades. In the 1999 European Parliament elections, Booth was the number two candidate on the UKIP list for South West England. Consequently, he became an MEP in 2002 as the replacement for Michael Holmes, former party leader, when Holmes resigned from the European Parliament. Booth was re-elected in 2004 with a greatly increased vote. In the 2005 General Election he contested the

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

constituency in Devon, and gained 7.9% of the vote. UKIP MEPs frequently claim that the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...

is a powerless talking shop, with real lawmaking power resting with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

. However, Graham Booth is credited with having helped save the Isles of Scilly helicopter shuttle service in his constituency by means of an astute parliamentary speech in 2003. The service, which is crucial to life on the islands, had been threatened with closure by a heavy-handed interpretation of a new EU directive aimed at larger airlines. Following Booth's speech, an alliance between UKIP and the UK Labour Party MEPs persuaded the EU Transport Commissioner to amend the directive, allowing the service (and similar 'social carriers' across Europe) to continue in business. Booth retired from his role as a UKIP MEP on 1 October 2008 and was replaced by the next candidate on the list, Trevor Colman. He continued to be a keen activist in and around the bay until his death in December 2011.

References

External links

Profile on the European Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Graham 1940 births 2011 deaths People from Paignton People educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School UK Independence Party MEPs MEPs for England 1999–2004 MEPs for England 2004–2009