Neil Hamilton was a Member of the National Assembly
for Wales between May 2016 and April 2021. This was his biography at the time
he left.
Key interests and
achievements
Neil
Hamilton’s key political interests are the economy, low taxes, entrepreneurship
and, above all, the sovereignty of Parliament and Britain’s national
independence. Opposition to the EU is the thread running through his whole
political life. He joined the Anti-Common Market League in 1967 whilst a pupil
at the Amman Valley Grammar School.
He
is against the Welfare State, believing people should decide for themselves how
to live, so long as they cause no significant harm to others.
Personal history
Born
in 1949, he grew up in a mining family in the South Wales Valleys. Both his grandfathers were coal miners and
his father rose to be NCB Chief Engineer for Wales. He was educated at Amman Valley Grammar
School, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (BScEcon 1970, MScEcon 1973)
and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, (LL.M 1977).
Professional background
He
was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1979 and specialised in tax,
intellectual property, company law, trusts etc. Before becoming an MP he was European
and Parliamentary Affairs Director of the Institute of Directors.
Political history
He
fought, as a Conservative, Abertillery in February 1974, Bradford North in 1979
and was elected Conservative MP for Tatton in 1983. He was a member of the Treasury Select
Committee, a Government Whip, Corporate Affairs Minister at the Department of
Trade & Industry, responsible for the City, Financial Services Industry,
Insurance, Accountancy, Corporate & Commercial Law, Financial Regulation,
Fraud & Insider Dealing, Monopolies & Mergers, European Trade Policy
etc. He spearheaded the Government's Deregulation Initiative and was a Member
of EU Council of Ministers, responsible for all aspects of trade between
Britain and Europe with special responsibility for Eastern Europe, He was the
UK's delegate to the G7 and UN Conferences on Reconstruction of Eastern Europe.
He
joined the Anti-Common-Market League in 1967, UKIP in 2002 and was a member of
its National Executive Committee from 2011-2016. He was UKIP Deputy Chairman
2013-2016 and Campaign Director in the European Parliament elections 2014.
Register of
Interests
Register of Interests – Fifth Senedd (PDF,
3.25MB)
