Election to European Parliament

In the 2009 European elections, Sinclaire was elected as a UKIP Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands region, while holding the second place on the UKIP list.^[10] Thus she became the first openly lesbian member of the European Parliament for the UK delegation.

On 11 September 2009, Sinclaire announced she would stand in the 2009 UKIP leadership election.^[11] Her decision to stand followed Nigel Farage's announcement on 4 September that he would stand down as UKIP leader to stand in the general election against John Bercow in Buckinghamshire. The leadership ballot was won by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, with Sinclaire coming third with 1,214 votes.^{[citation needed]}

65th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

Sinclaire was invited, as a guest of the European Jewish Congress, to take part in events at Auschwitz, in January 2010, to mark the 65th anniversary of its liberation,^[12] and found herself as the only British Member of the European Parliament attending the event.

After UKIP

Sinclaire stood in the 2010 general election in Meriden. She used the label 'Solihull and Meriden Residents Association', and was endorsed by the Libertarian Party. Amongst her opponents was a candidate endorsed by UKIP.^[17] She won 1.3% of the vote, compared with 2.6% for the UKIP candidate.^[18]

Delegation to Tunisia

Sinclaire was the only UK politician to be chosen to fly to Tunisia in early February 2011, as part of an international delegation following the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.^[19]

Campaign for a referendum

Sinclaire launched a campaign for a referendum^[20] in July 2010, with the aim of collecting 100,000 signatures calling for a referendum on the UK's continued membership of the European Union.

The campaign's first roadshow was held in Stoke-on-Trent on 29 July 2010^[21] and visited over 50 towns and cities in the West Midlands alone.

Alongside her weekly road shows, Campaign for a Referendum created a 'People's Petition'^[22] magazine which is in its fourth issue. The magazine gathered cross party support.

Taking the petition to Parliament

Sinclaire announced that the petition had collected the necessary 100,000 signatures on 9 August 2011. The signatures were officially delivered to Downing Street on 8 September 2011.^[23] Sinclaire was joined by MEPs Mike Nattrass and Trevor Colman, along with MPs Kate Hoey, Nigel Dodds and Kelvin Hopkins.

Campaign for a Referendum went to Manchester for the 2011 Conservative Party conference. Whilst at the conference, she spoke to Prime Minister David Cameron.^[24] When asked about the subject, Mr Cameron acknowledged that the petition had been delivered.

A date for the debate in commons on this issue was set for 27 October,^[25] which was then changed to 24 October,^[26] allowing for the Prime Minister and William Hague to attend.

The motion on a referendum was defeated, but the result caused the largest rebellion against a Conservative Prime Minister over Europe. 79 Conservative MPs voted for the motion, with a further two Conservative abstentions and two acting as tellers for the motion. 19 Labour MPs defied the party whip, alongside one Liberal Democrat.^[27]

Despite the defeat in Parliament, the Birmingham Post reported that she planned to continue the fight of a referendum^[28] and on 31 October 2011, Sinclaire launched the second phase of the petition, which called for a referendum on whether to negotiate the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. A second petition with 100,000 names was delivered to 10 Downing Street in September 2012.^[29]

Campaigning against Irish fiscal treaty

Sinclaire and a “posse of 20 followers” travelled to Ireland distributing anti-treaty leaflets. The presence of Sinclaire and Nigel Farage was reported by journalist Karen Coleman as about their own "anti-EU agendas" which had "little to do with what's best for Ireland".^[30]

Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme

Sinclaire enrolled onto the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in October 2009.^[31]

As a part of this scheme she visited Afghanistan in November 2011, where she was alarmed to speak to troops who worried about how their families were being looked after at home in the UK.^[32]

Football in the community

Sinclaire sponsored 13 players during the 2011–12 season from teams across her constituency,^[33] ranging from the Conference North to the Premier League. Sinclaire is also a fanatical Liverpool fan and season ticket holder.

Sinclaire sponsored and distributed a leaflet in August 2012, for Worcester City Football Club^[34] to help promote their final season at their St George's Lane ground.

Meriden travellers

Sinclaire has worked alongside local residents group RAID^[35] in protesting against an unauthorised gypsy camp on the Eaves Green Lane site in Meriden, West Midlands.

The Travellers on the Eaves Green Lane site were told they would have to leave^[36] and were given a year to move on by Solihull Council in a court hearing in May 2012.^[37]

HS2

Sinclaire is an active campaigner against the HS2 project^[38] which aims to link Birmingham and London by High Speed Rail.

The Birmingham Post featured her argument with the council about the removal of her anti-HS2 signs.^[39]

Aston Arena

She has protested to save the Aston Arena, a sport centre based in Aston Birmingham. She delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street with a local charity calling for the Government to save the sports centre.^[40]

Sinclaire also led a protest at Birmingham Council house against the demolition of the sports facility.^[41]