Timothy Kirkhope entered the European Parliament in 1999, having previously served as a junior minister under John Major and as the MP for Leeds North East from 1987-1997. In 2004 he was elected as Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, a position he held until 2007, when he was defeated in a leadership challenge by Giles Chichester. However, Kirkhope subsequently regained the leadership the following year (see below).