Is
Neil Hamilton planning a return to frontline politics?
The ex-Tory MP, who lost his parliamentary seat in 1997 following the cash-for-questions scandal, has put himself up for election to the UK Independence Party’s national executive council, a possible springboard to standing as a UKIP MP in the future.
The former MP for Tatton has been a low-key member of the party for a year.
“Before, I didn’t have time, but now I’ve decided to get more involved.”
With his wife Christine, Hamilton became an unlikely celebrity, appearing on shows such as Have I Got News For You and The Weakest Link, as well as performing in pantomimes, and gigs at the Edinburgh Festival from which the couple have just returned.
The vexed issue that has stirred him into action is the Tories’ flip-flopping over Europe. “The Conservative Party are going nowhere on Europe,” he says.
“They should have delivered on the promises William Hague and David Cameron gave before the election, where they sought a repatriation of powers from Europe.
But the first thing Hague did when he was made Foreign Secretary was to say we wouldn’t be doing that.” UKIP is to hold its annual party conference in Eastbourne from September 8, with the results of the postal vote for the NEC due later in the autumn.Hamilton has lost none of his political skills.
Asked if he would stand as an MP, he dodged the question. “I’m 62,” he said. “Who knows?”