The UK is divided into twelve regions. Each region has between three and ten MEPs and each MEP in a region represents each person living there. England is divided into 9 electoral regions. The East Midlands region comprises Derbyshire, Derby, Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, Rutland

Chris was first elected MEP for the East Midlands in June 1999. He is currently the Conservative spokesman for Culture, Media and Sport, and has been leading opposition to the EU's attempts to dictate sports rules. Chris was responsible for bringing the case of Marta Andreasen, the European Commission's Chief Accountant, to public attention back in August 2002 and has been at the forefront of fighting fraud, mismanagement and waste within the European Commission and other European Institutions. In 2006, Chris highlighted how the EU Budget was being used to implement parts of the rejected EU Constitution.

He was the Chief Whip for the Conservatives in the European Parliament from 2001 to March 2004. He was a founder member of the "Campaign for Parliamentary Reform", set up by nine younger MEPs in 2001 to attack the waste and bureaucracy within the European Parliament itself. CPR members have been fighting for a "Member's Statute" to make MEPs expenses more transparent; a single seat for the European Parliament and a rationalization of the language regime. In 2006, Chris was chosen as the Parliamentary Spokesman for the Daventry constituency at the next General Election.

He is President of the European Parliament's "Sports Intergroup", and works closely with disability sports organisations such as Special Olympics to raise their profile in the sporting world. Chris is a Grade 5 qualified soccer referee. He is married with two children.
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I was first elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 as the local MEP for Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire. I stood on a Conservative platform to defend the national sovereignty of the UK and work for an EU of nation states, as opposed to the federal model that New Labour is pursuing. I also work to ensure that we in the East Midlands get the best we can from the EU in terms of funding and benefits.

I currently serve on the parliament's Unemployment Committee, Petitions Committee, Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Temporary Committee on Climate Change. I am very active on the parliament's hunting inter-group. I have recently been campaigning vigorously to demand a referendum on the EU's new Constitutional treaty. I have also done a lot of work on the climate change issue.

In addition to my parliamentary duties, I am the Honorary Chairman of The Freedom Association (www.tfa.net), helping me to take conservative values to a wider audience. If you think that I can help you in any way, please see my Contact Details to see how to reach me online or via my local-rate hotline.