Ray Finch Explained

Ray Finch
Birth Date:	2 June 1963
Birth Place:	Liverpool, England
Constituency Mp:	South East England
Parliament:	European
Term Start:	1 July 2014
Term End:	1 July 2019^[1] ^[2]
Leader:	Paul Nuttall Steve Crowther (Acting) Henry Bolton Gerard Batten
Predecessor:	James Elles
Successor:	Robert Rowland
Party:	UK Independence Party (until April 2019) Brexit Party (April–May 2019)
Module:	Embed: yes Office1: UKIP Spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Term Start1: 6 December 2016 Term End1: 16 April 2019 Successor1: Vacant Office2: UKIP Spokesperson for Defence Predecessor2: Henry Bolton Term Start2: 17 February 2018 Term End2: 17 April 2019 Leader2: Gerard Batten Successor2: Mike Hookem Office3: Leader of UKIP in the European Parliament Term Start3: 7 January 2017 Term End3: 14 April 2018 Deputy Leader: 14 April 2018 - 16 April 2019 Predecessor3: Paul Nuttall Successor3: Gerard Batten (Leader) Stuart Agnew (Deputy) Office4: UKIP Spokesperson for Housing Term Start4: 6 December 2016 Term End4: 14 April 2018 Predecessor4: Andrew Charalambous Successor4: Andrew Charalambous Office5: UKIP Spokesperson for Fisheries Term Start5: 24 July 2014 Term End5: 29 November 2016 Predecessor5: Office established Successor5: Mike Hookem

Raymond Finch (born 2 June 1963) is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England between 2014 and 2019.

The fourth named candidate on the UK Independence Party (UKIP) list for the South East England constituency, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament after the 2014 European Parliamentary Election.

Finch was the leader of the UKIP group on Hampshire County Council, standing down on election to the European Parliament.^[3] He resigned as a councillor in January 2017 following his appointment as head of the UK Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy delegation in the European Parliament.^[4]

On 17 April 2019, Finch left UKIP to join the Brexit Party.^[5] He was not selected as a Brexit Party candidate for the 2019 European Parliamentary election, and ceased to sit as a Brexit Party MEP on 26 May 2019.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Key dates ahead. European Parliament . 28 May 2019 . 20 May 2017.
2. Web site: Key dates ahead. BBC News . 28 May 2019 . 22 May 2017.
3. Web site: Vote2014 - South East. BBC News. 26 May 2014.
4. News: Carr. Michael. 'I am unable to continue': Hampshire UKIP councillor Ray Finch quits. 5 December 2017. Daily Echo. 12 January 2017.
5. Web site: Raymond Finch - 8th parliamentary erm. European Parliament. 18 April 2019.