Graham Booth

Who was Graham Booth?

Graham Harry Booth was an English politician, and was a Member of the European Parliament for South West England between 2002 and 2008. He was a member of the United Kingdom Independence Party.

Booth was born in Paignton, Devon and educated at Torquay Boys' Grammar School. Before he entered politics, he was a businessman in the building and tourism trades. In the 1999 European Parliament elections, Booth was the number two candidate on the UKIP list for South West England. Consequently he became an MEP in 2002 as the replacement for Michael Holmes, former party leader, when Holmes resigned from the European Parliament. Booth was re-elected in 2004 with a greatly increased vote. In the 2005 General Election he contested the Torbay constituency in Devon, and gained 7.9% of the vote.

UKIP MEPs frequently claim that the European Parliament is a powerless talking shop, with real lawmaking power resting with the European Commission. However, Graham Booth is credited with having helped save the Isles of Scilly helicopter shuttle service in his constituency by means of an astute parliamentary speech in 2003. The service, which is crucial to life on the islands, had been threatened with closure by a heavy-handed interpretation of a new EU directive aimed at larger airlines. Following Booth's speech, an alliance between UKIP and the UK Labour Party MEPs persuaded the EU Transport Commissioner to amend the directive, allowing the service to continue in business.