Editing Roger Helmer (section)

==Political career==
===Conservative===
[[File:Roger Helmer in 2008.jpg|thumb|upright|Helmer at an event in [[Brussels]] in 2008]]
In September 1998, following his selection as a candidate for the Conservative Party in the East Midlands, Helmer left his job as managing director of a Leicester textile company, Donisthorpe Ltd (the UK subsidiary of a French textile multinational), to campaign full-time ahead of the 1999 euro-elections, and took up his new role as an MEP immediately after his election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerhelmer.com/biog.asp|title=Biography|date=5 April 2004|access-date=10 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821100246/http://www.rogerhelmer.com/biog.asp|archive-date=21 August 2009}}</ref>

He was re-elected as a Conservative MEP for the East Midlands Region in 2004.<ref name=micandidate.eu />
He was suspended from the Conservative Party whip on 26 May 2005 after voting against party instructions on a motion to censure the [[European Commission]] and openly criticising his delegation leader, [[Timothy Kirkhope]], in a parliamentary debate;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/1490818/Euro-Tories-suspend-MEP-in-row-over-EU-president.html |title=Euro Tories suspend MEP in row over EU president |first=David |last=Rennie |date=26 May 2005 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=25 April 2012}}</ref> the Conservative party whip was restored on 13 September 2006,<ref name=politics.co.uk>{{cite web|url=http://www.politics.co.uk/news/party-politics/conservatives/eurosceptic-mep-has-tory-whip-restored-$450320.htm|title=Eurosceptic MEP has Tory whip restored|date=13 September 2006|publisher=politics.co.uk|access-date=10 August 2009}}</ref> but he remained ''[[Non-Inscrits|Non-Inscrit]]''. He joined the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]] (ECR), with the other Conservative MEPs, in July 2009.

Having initially advocated the Conservative policy of renegotiating the EU treaties, since 2006 he has been a supporter of the [[Better Off Out]] campaign, calling for the UK to leave the EU.<ref>{{cite web |title=Supporters |url=http://www.betteroffout.co.uk/sup01.htm |publisher=Better Off Out |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208093916/http://www.betteroffout.co.uk/sup01.htm |access-date=10 August 2009 |archive-date=8 February 2008}}</ref>

He was appointed Adam Smith Scholar in 2005 by the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[American Legislative Exchange Council]] (ALEC).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_the_European_Parliament/Helmer_Roger.aspx |title=Roger Helmer MEP |publisher=conservatives.com |date=10 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429160211/http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_the_European_Parliament/Helmer_Roger.aspx |archive-date=29 April 2010 }}</ref>

He became chairman of the libertarian pressure group, [[The Freedom Association]], in April 2007.

In November 2009 he stepped down as the Conservative party's spokesman on employment in the European parliament because he thought the Conservatives' new policy on not supporting a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was "confused" and "essentially cosmetic".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/05/meps-hannan-helmer-quit-lisbon-referendum|title=Resignation|access-date=5 November 2009 | location=London|work=The Guardian|first1=Patrick|last1=Wintour|first2=Andrew|last2=Sparrow|date=5 November 2009}}</ref>

===UKIP===
On 12 October 2011, Helmer announced that he would resign from the European Parliament at the end of the year, citing "increasing disillusion with the attitudes of the Conservative Party" as the main reason, although also stating that his "twelve-and-a-half years banging my head against the same brick wall in Brussels is perhaps long enough".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://conservativehome.blogs.com/parliament/2011/10/roger-helmer-mep-to-resign-from-the-european-parliament.html |title=Roger Helmer MEP to resign from the European Parliament |last=Barrett |first=Matthew |publisher=ConservativeHome |date=12 October 2011}}</ref>

Helmer expected to be replaced by [[Rupert Matthews (politician)|Rupert Matthews]] who was next on the Conservative [[party list]] in the [[2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|2009 European Parliament election]]. However the party was reported to be looking into [[Golliwogg|golliwog dolls]] featuring on the front cover of a book published by a company of which Matthews is director and shareholder<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16373806 "Conservative MEP Roger Helmer delays resignation"] BBC 31 December 2011</ref> and would not confirm that Matthews would succeed him.

Helmer delayed standing down, before it was announced on 2 March 2012 that he had defected from the Conservatives to the UK Independence Party.<ref name="British Broadcasting Corporation"/> He faced accusations of hypocrisy as he had demanded in November 2000, that MEP [[Bill Newton Dunn]] immediately resign as a result of his move from Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats.<ref>[http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/MEP-hypocrite-party-shift/story-15431082-detail/story.html "MEP 'hypocrite' over party shift" ''Leicester Mercury'' 8 March 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824015508/http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/MEP-hypocrite-party-shift/story-15431082-detail/story.html |date=24 August 2013 }}</ref>

On 6 April 2014, Helmer visited the congress of [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] in [[Tallinn]] and gave a speech in support of Euroscepticism in Estonia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ekre.ee/konservatiivne-rahvaerakond-peab-puhapaeval-tallinnas-kongressi/|title=Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond peab pühapäeval Tallinnas kongressi – EKRE – Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond|website=ekre.ee}}</ref>

On 6 May 2014, it was announced on the official UKIP website that Helmer would contest the [[2014 Newark by-election|Newark by-election]], following the resignation of former Conservative MP [[Patrick Mercer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukip.org/ukip_announces_newark_parliamentary_by_election_candidate|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140506151509/http://www.ukip.org/ukip_announces_newark_parliamentary_by_election_candidate|archive-date=6 May 2014|title=UKIP announces Newark parliamentary by-election candidate - UKIP }}</ref> He came second with 25%, behind the Conservative [[Robert Jenrick]] who received 45% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|title=Conservatives see off UKIP challenge to win Newark by-election |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27711254|access-date=6 June 2014|work=[[BBC News]]|date=6 June 2014}}</ref>

On 25 May 2014, he was re-elected for UKIP as the first on their list for the East Midlands seat in the 2014 European Elections.

On 13 June 2017, Helmer announced he would be resigning from the European Parliament, citing age and health status as reasons, but amid allegations of misuse of public funds.<ref name="Rankin">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/13/ukip-mep-resigns-amid-investigation-into-alleged-misuse-of-funds|title=Ukip MEP resigns amid investigation into alleged misuse of funds|first=Jennifer|last=Rankin|date=13 June 2017|website=The Guardian}}</ref> He was succeeded by [[Jonathan Bullock]].<ref>[https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/837324/Brexit-news-Ukip-MEP-Jonathan-Bullock-Britain-leave-EU-May-Hammond Gutteridge, Nick. '"The fight for Brexit isn't over" Ukip's newest MEP vows to stop backsliding on leaving EU' ''Sunday Express'' website; August 5, 2017]</ref>