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] 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.
Sinclaire was born in London[1] and educated at the University of Kent at Canterbury, read for a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree.
[6] 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.
[citation needed] 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).
[citation needed] Sinclaire stood for the UK Parliament twice as a UKIP candidate: in Medway in 2001 and in Halesowen and Rowley Regis in 2005.
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.
[14] On its website, UKIP stated: "She has also proved unable to collaborate adequately with the voluntary party in the UK, particularly with the regional committee in the West Midlands.
[18] Sinclaire was the only UK politician to be chosen to fly to Tunisia in early February 2011, as part of an international delegation following the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
[23] Sinclaire was joined by MEPs Mike Nattrass and Trevor Colman, along with MPs Kate Hoey, Nigel Dodds and Kelvin Hopkins.
[31] As a part of this scheme she visited Afghanistan in November 2011, where she was alarmed to speak to troops who worried about how their families were being looked after at home in the UK.
Sinclaire sponsored and distributed a leaflet in August 2012, for Worcester City Football Club[34] to help promote their final season at their St George's Lane ground.
Sinclaire has worked alongside local residents group RAID[35] in protesting against an unauthorised gypsy camp on the Eaves Green Lane site in Meriden, West Midlands.
The Travellers on the Eaves Green Lane site were told they would have to leave[36] and were given a year to move on by Solihull Council in a court hearing in May 2012.
[41] Sinclaire founded the We Demand a Referendum Party in September 2012, with which she planned to contest all British constituencies in the 2014 EU elections.
[46] 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.