The newly elected member of the European parliament for the North East of England and Ukip’s shadow chancellor said the party plans to promote the UK’s exit from Europe in a bid to “review the financial services regulation imposed on us and see if it is practically useful to us”.
The Manchester-born Ukip politician, 46 and living in Chester, said he expected to become a member of the European economics committee, adding that a central objective of his was to cut the amount of regulation of financial services emanating from Europe in an effort to help push down the cost of financial services for Britons.
He is currently employed as legal counsel on regulatory and compliance matters for “one of the UK’s largest insurers”, the name of which he could not disclose for legal reasons.
He also has over 20 years’ experience as a specialist on compliance and regulatory law in financial services.
Mr Woolfe said: “Ukip’s whole idea is to free people up to do what they want. That’s even more important given the cost of living crisis we are still suffering. Many people are only just managing to get by, making saving for the future even harder but a yet more important part of their lives.”
He also revealed plans to engage with financial advisers in the run up to the UK general election next year saying the fact advisers “see real people with real problems every day” was critical to informing Ukip policy.
His comments came as Ukip stormed to victory in the European elections over the weekend securing 24 seats across Scotland, Wales and every region of England, and winning 27.5 per cent of the vote.
Mr Woolfe revealed that he has already appointed Ukip councillor Mark Hughes, 52 and director of Hertfordshire-based IFA firm Mark Hughes & Associates, to advise him on pensions policy.
Mr Hughes, who was elected to Royston council in last weekend’s local elections but who failed to get elected to the European parliament despite being seventh on Ukip’s candidate list in the East of England, said: “We know that having had such a landslide victory in the European elections Ukip is going to come under scrutiny at the next general election because we now might actually win some seats.”
Conservative view
Mark Garnier, Conservative MP for Wyre Forest and member of the Treasury select committee, said: “It is a very good thing to have more people in politics who add past experience of any profession to the crucible of policy. Politics is about getting things to happen and that means it’s not just about protesting from the sidelines.”
