Christine Hamilton
| Christine Hamilton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Mary Christine Holman 10 November 1949 Bournemouth, Hampshire, England |
| Alma mater | University of York |
| Occupation | Media personality, public speaker |
| Spouse(s) | Neil Hamilton |
Mary Christine Hamilton (née Holman; born 10 November 1949) is an English media personality and author. She is married to Neil Hamilton, the former Conservative Member of Parliament for Tatton,
Hamilton and her husband have become prominent supporters of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), with Neil standing for a local council seat in the 2014 local elections. Neil Hamilton's application to become a European parliamentary candidate for UKIP was rejected in 2013, though he had been elected to UKIP's National Executive Committee in 2011.
Hamilton's father was a GP in Ringwood, Hampshire and she grew up in the New Forest area. She attended Wentworth College, an independent boarding school for girls in Bournemouth and a co-educational Grammar School in Christchurch, Dorset. She then studied sociology at the University of York and first met Neil Hamilton when they both attended a student political conference.
Hamilton spent many years working as secretary to various Conservative MPs, first Wilfred Proudfoot MP for Brighouse and Spenborough, then Gerald Nabarro, MP for South Worcestershire. She notably stood behind Nabarro as he spoke on the steps of Winchester Court after being cleared of an apparent motoring offence. Hamilton worked as her husband's secretary following their 1983 marriage. Neil Hamilton eventually reached the post of Minister for Corporate Affairs between 1992 and 1994 in Prime Minister John Major's government. Neil Hamilton became embroiled in the Cash-for-questions affair, and the former BBC broadcaster Martin Bell stood against him for the Tatton seat at the 1997 general election. Bell campaigned as an ‘anti-sleaze’ candidate, and Christine Hamilton notably confronted him during a televised press conference on Knutsford Heath, which bought her to public prominence. Hamilton would later describe the confrontation with Bell as "...the making of me." The journalist John Sweeney would later publish Purple Homicide, an account of the campaign for the Tatton seat. Neil Hamilton's later failure in a libel case against the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed would lead to her husband's bankruptcy.
...
Wikipedia