Neil Hamilton (politician)

Mostyn Neil Hamilton (born 9 March 1949) is a British politician and former barrister who was leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2021 to 2024. Originally a member of the Conservative Party, he was elected to the House of Commons in the 1983 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton, a seat he held until 1997. He was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state for corporate affairs by Prime Minister John Major in 1992.

In 1994, The Guardian alleged that Hamilton had taken cash payments in exchange for asking questions in Parliament. Hamilton sued the newspaper for libel, but settled on the day of the trial. The Guardian published a headline branding him "A Liar and a Cheat". The cash-for-questions affair inquiry in 1997 found that Hamilton had taken bribes. He subsequently lost a libel case on the matter. Hamilton became widely associated with sleaze, and was forced to resign his ministerial role. He was defeated by an independent candidate, Martin Bell, in the 1997 general election.

Hamilton left the Conservative Party in 2002. In 2011, he returned to politics and was elected to the national executive committee of UKIP. He served as a UKIP Member of the Senedd (MS) for Mid and West Wales from 2016 to 2021. Following his election to the National Assembly for Wales, he was UKIP's assembly group leader from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2021. He became leader of UKIP Wales in 2016. In September 2020, Hamilton was named acting leader of UKIP, following the suspension from the party of the previous leader, Freddy Vachha. Hamilton was defeated at the 2021 Senedd election. In October 2021, Hamilton was elected UKIP leader and served until May 2024.