Political
Timothy Kirkhope lives in Scotton near Knaresborough with Caroline and their sons. He is proud to represent Yorkshire and the Humber in the European Parliament and the 5 million people who live and work in the region. Timothy regularly visits schools, hospitals and community groups from Skipton to Scarborough and from Richmond to Rotherham.
As well as representing his constituents, Timothy was also the Conservative representative on the 'Future of Europe' Convention and is now ECR Group Co-ordinator and Conservative Spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs. In this latter position, he has an important role on security and privacy issues, such as the fight against terrorism, and the protection of citizens online rights. He is currently drafting a report on the use of PNR (Passenger Name Record) data which will have a major impact on aviation security.
As a former UK Home Office minister, Timothy also continues to monitor asylum and immigration policy for which he was responsible between 1995 and 1997. In 2003 he introduced a report to combat Internet child pornography by allowing law enforcement authorities to monitor web activity for offending material and take action against these evil people. More recently he was involved as a Shadow Rapporteur on a report for an EU-wide revamp of online protection for children from paedophiles.
Early on in his time as MEP, Timothy also represented the Conservative party on the Convention of MEPs, MPs and national representatives which drew up the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, but he felt that the Charter should have concentrated more on limiting the powers of EU institutions. As a Director of the Movement for European Reform Timothy lead discussion groups on the Conservative Party Reform agenda, in various parts of Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Throughout this time, Timothy pushed hard for a more pragmatic and transparent Europe, and published a Simplifying Treaty in 2003. It has since been re-published twice and Timothy is determined that this alternative vision of Europe continue to play a role not only in the Conservative Party's approach to the EU but also that of others, friends and foe alike. A copy is available to download on the homepage of this site.
In 2007, Timothy became Conservative Spokesman on Transport and Tourism, as well as Vice-Chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee. As Transport and Tourism Spokesman, he worked to protect rural bus and coach services (DalesBus in particular) and rural post offices, lobbied for improved rights for all air travellers, and drafted a European Parliament report (Computerised Reservations Systems Code of Conduct) which resulted in major benefits for rail and air passengers.
As Vice-Chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee in 2009-2010, Timothy worked hard to ensure the views of the citizens of the UK are represented. Continuing a theme he developed He fought for Europe's Future to be put to a Referendum in the UK. He champions an EU that places action over words, focusing on Global Poverty, Globalisation, and Global Warming.
