Janice Atkinson
|
Janice Atkinson MEP |
|
|---|---|
| Member of the European Parliament for South East England |
|
|
Assumed office 1 July 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Marta Andreasen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 August 1962 London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party |
UK Independence Party (2011–2015) (2014–2015 (as an MEP)) Independent (2015–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Conservative Party (circa 1980 (claimed)-2011) (active 2005–2011) |
| Website |
janiceatkinson.co.uk europarl..JANICE_ATKINSON |
Janice Ann Atkinson (born 31 August 1962) is an independent Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region, formerly representing the UK Independence Party (UKIP). She was elected in 2014, second on the list for the region behind Nigel Farage. In March 2015, she was expelled from UKIP for "bringing the party into disrepute" after her chief of staff was recorded fraudulently trying to inflate her expenses.
Atkinson is a former member of the Conservative Party and ran a marketing business for two decades prior to becoming an MEP. As Janice Small, she was a press officer for the Conservatives in the south-east during the 2005 general election and in the 2010 general election, she was the Conservative candidate for Batley and Spen, finishing second, 4,406 votes behind Labour incumbent Mike Wood. She was also director of Conservative Action for Electoral Reform.
Atkinson joined UKIP in 2011, citing David Cameron's failure to produce a referendum on European Union membership. As Janice Atkinson-Small she wrote a column for the Daily Mail.
She was selected as the UKIP candidate for Folkestone and Hythe for the 2015 general election, before being expelled from the party and withdrawn as its candidate due to a 'serious financial irregularity'.
On 16 June 2015, it was announced that Atkinson had joined the newly formed far-right group in the European Parliament, Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF).
...
Wikipedia