Timothy John Robert Kirkhope, Baron Kirkhope of Harrogate (born 29 April 1945) is a British lawyer and politician who previously served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999. Between December 2004 and November 2010 he was leader of the Conservative delegation for a total of six years. He was the chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel's Europe grouping, the European Conservatives Spokesman on Justice and Home Affairs, and a member of the European Parliament's U.S Delegation. In 2016, he was created a life peer. Biography Kirkhope was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and educated at the independent Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and subsequently at the Law Society College of Law in Guildford before qualifying as a solicitor in 1973. He was a senior partner in Newcastle law firm Wilkinson Marshall Clayton and Gibson (now part of Eversheds) until election to Parliament in 1987. He still maintains a Solicitors Practising Certificate. In 1982 he was elected to Northumberland County Council for one term and served as a director of Newcastle International Airport. He obtained his Private Pilot's Licence in 1983. He was very active in the Free Radio movement and a co-author of the Conservatives proposals for commercial radio in the late 1960s. He was then part of a consortium bidding for one of the first commercial radio licences when they became available. He has always had a strong interest in Hospital Broadcasting having been the chairman of Radio Tyneside for some years, and has maintained his links with that organisation. He was also very active in charitable work for the Macmillan Cancer Relief organization in Newcastle and the Family Service Unit movement. House of Commons Kirkhope first stood for Parliament for Durham at the February 1974 General Election, but was beaten by the Labour incumbent Mark Hughes, although the voting swing in the constituency was surprisingly one of the biggest towards the Conservatives in the UK, at these "Miners" elections. In 1979 he contested Darlington, but was narrowly defeated by Labour's Ted Fletcher. At the 1987 general election, Kirkhope followed Sir Keith Joseph as the Member of Parliament for Leeds North East. He was made Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Trippier at the Department of the