Derek Clark

{{for|the British Olympic sailor|Derek Clark (sailor)}}

{{Short description|British politician (1933–2023)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Derek Clark.jpg

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Derek Roland Clark

| constituency_MP = East Midlands

| parliament = European

| majority =

| predecessor = Mel Read

| successor = Margot Parker

| term_start = 10 June 2004

| term_end = 2 July 2014

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1933|10|10}}

| birth_place = Bristol, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2023|01|01|1933|10|10}}

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| spouse =

| party = UK Independence Party

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater = University of Bristol
University of Exeter

| occupation =

| profession = Science teacher (retired)

| religion =

| signature =

| website = {{URL|http://www.derekclarkmep.org.uk/}}

| footnotes =

}}

Derek Roland Clark (10 October 1933 – 1 January 2023) was a UK Independence Party politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands from 2004 to 2014.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/euro/09/html/ukregion_31.stm|title=European Election 2009: East Midlands |date=7 June 2009|work=BBC News Online|publisher=BBC|access-date=15 April 2010}}

He stood as a UKIP candidate in the 2010 general election for Northampton South, receiving 1,897 votes (4.9%), which was 50 votes short of retaining his deposit.

He was educated at the University of Bristol (Teaching Certificate) and the University of Exeter. He was a retired science teacher.

In 2011, he was investigated by OLAF, the EU anti-fraud office, and was made to repay £31,800 for wages paid to employees who were working for UKIP and not for his EU Parliament work.

Clark was a climate change denier and pledged to ban the teaching of anthropogenic global warming in schools.{{cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/01/ukips-inconvenient-truth-platform/ |title=UKIP pledges to ban climate change lessons in schools |publisher=Index on Censorship |access-date=21 July 2016}}

Clark died on 1 January 2023, at the age of 89.{{cite web |title=Tweet announcing death of Derek Clark |url=https://twitter.com/UKIP/status/1609511069508059146?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet |website=Twitter |publisher=UK Independence Party |access-date=27 January 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Tite |first1=Nick |title=Tribute paid for former East Midlands MEP Derek Clark, who has died aged 89 |url=https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/tribute-paid-for-former-east-midlands-mep-derek-clark-who-has-died-aged-89-3988430 |access-date=10 September 2024 |work=Northampton Chronicle & Echo |date=16 January 2023}}