Farage was a founding member of UKIP, having left the [[Conservative Party]] in 1992 after the signing of the [[Maastricht Treaty]]. Having unsuccessfully campaigned in European and Westminster parliamentary elections for UKIP since 1994, he won a seat as MEP for South East England in the 1999 European Parliament Election—the first year the regional list system was used—and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009. | Farage was a founding member of UKIP, having left the [[Conservative Party]] in 1992 after the signing of the [[Maastricht Treaty]]. Having unsuccessfully campaigned in European and Westminster parliamentary elections for UKIP since 1994, he won a seat as MEP for South East England in the 1999 European Parliament Election—the first year the regional list system was used—and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009. |