article published in The Daily Telegraph, Hannan has claimed that his protest activities were connected with this event. Early political career After graduating in 1993, Hannan became the first director of the European Research Group, an organisation for Eurosceptic Conservative MPs chaired by Michael Spicer. From 1994 to 1995, he served as Chairman of the National Association of Conservative Graduates. In 1996, he became a leader-writer at The Daily Telegraph under Charles Moore. He wrote leaders for the paper until 2004, and has written blogs and columns ever since. Hannan has since contributed to The Spectator and many other newspapers and magazines around the world. In 1997, he became an adviser and speechwriter to Michael Howard, then Shadow Foreign Secretary. In 2001, during the general election campaign, while already serving as an MEP, he wrote speeches for William Hague, the Conservative leader. In 1999 he stood down from his posts at the European Research Group and Conservative Graduates. Member of the European Parliament Hannan was elected to the European Parliament in 1999. His first act on being elected was to write an article in The Daily Telegraph about the expenses and allowances available to MEPs, which caused great controversy. In 2000, he launched a public appeal to support the underfunded "No" campaign in Denmark's referendum on joining the euro. The Guardian newspaper accused him of running the appeal from his parliamentary office, but withdrew the accusation when it was shown that he had, in fact, operated out of his own flat. Denmark ultimately voted against joining the euro. Hannan was re-elected at the top of his party's list for the South East England constituency in 2004. He was re-elected again, in 2009 and 2014, each time at the head of the Conservative list – a ranking determined by party members in a postal ballot. In December 2018, Hannan ranked 738 out of 751 MEPs for his participation in roll call votes in the European Parliament. Campaign against the Lisbon Treaty One of Hannan's longest-running campaigns as an MEP was for a referendum – first on the European Constitution and then, when that text was revised and renamed, on the Lisbon Treaty. He would end every speech, whatever its subject, with a call, in Latin, for the Lisbon treaty to be put to the vote: "Pactio Olisipiensis censenda est". The words were a deliberate echo of Cato the Elder, the Roman