Roger Maurice Knapman (born 20 February 1944) is a British politician who served as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP before becoming Leader 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).

Early life

The son of Harry Arthur Blackmore Knapman, a farmer, and Joan Margot née Densham, Roger Knapman was educated at Allhallows School, Lyme Regis, and the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. Before entering politics, he was a

Chartered Surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as " Char ...

and partner with West Country, a firm of livestock auctioneers and surveyors, 1963–77. He was then a Chartered Surveyor in his own right 1978–85.

Parliamentary career

As a member of the Conservative Party, Knapman was elected MP for

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, and was Vice-Chairman of the Conservative European Affairs Committee.''Dod's 1991'', p.502. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the armed forces minister, Archie Hamilton. In this capacity he joined the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...

's Foreign Affairs Committee Delegation to the Croatian Government in October 1991 to observe their war of independence against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. He resigned from his government position in order to oppose the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

. He successfully defended his seat in the 1992 general election. In 1995 he became a government

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 ...

. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, however, he lost his seat to the Labour candidate, David Drew.

UKIP

Shortly afterwards, Knapman left the Conservative party to join UKIP. He stood as their candidate in the 2001 general election for

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

, coming fourth yet narrowly retaining his deposit. From 2000, he was UKIP's political advisor, and in 2002 he was elected unopposed as party leader. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

he was elected a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, 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 S ...

for the

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

constituency. As leader of the only British party in the European Parliament to vote against the expansion of the EU in 2004 (and publicly opposing immigration), there was some amusement in May 2006 when it was revealed that he had employed a team of Polish builders to renovate his Grade II listed home in Devon, claiming there were no suitable local workers – a claim denied by local builders. He contested

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

at the 2005 general election, coming 4th with 7.7% of the vote. In 2006, he announced that he had no intention of seeking re-election as party leader; the leadership contest was won in September of that year by

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

MEP. Knapman was the only leader of UKIP to have succeeded in completing a full four-year term until Farage did so in 2014 after returning to the role in 2010.

References

External links

* *
Profile at European Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapman, Roger Maurice 1944 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University British libertarians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Leaders of the UK Independence Party MEPs for England 2004–2009 People from Crediton UK Independence Party MEPs UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates British Eurosceptics Chartered Surveyors