Steven Woolfe

Steven Marcus Woolfe (born 6 October 1967) is a British barrister, writer, commentator and former politician. He is currently the Director of the Centre for Migration & Economic Prosperity, a research think tank studying population and immigration into the UK, Europe and US. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2014 until 2019. From 2014, he was a UKIP MEP, but resigned to become an Independent MEP in October 2016 following his opposition to the party's overly negative policy on immigration. He remained independent until July 2019.

Woolfe was born in Moss Side in Manchester, and grew up on a council estate in Burnage. His maternal grandmother Christine emigrated to Britain from Ireland and married James, an Englishman. Both his parents were born in Manchester: his father was mixed race, born to a British Jewish mother and a Black American father. He abandoned Woolfe and his brother as a small child.

Woolfe is the eldest of a family of four. His younger half-brother is Nathan Woolfe, a footballer who has played for various clubs as a striker.

Woolfe attended St Bernard's Roman Catholic Primary School, a voluntary-aided state-maintained school in Burnage. As a child of a single mother, he won a scholarship to St Bede's College, a co-educational independent school in the Manchester suburb of Whalley Range, where he excelled at sport, debating and study.

Woolfe read law at Aberystwyth University, won several awards and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1990.

Woolfe pursued further studies at the Inns of Court School of Law in London, before being called to the Bar at the Inner Temple. He initially undertook pupillage at Francis Taylor Buildings, before completing pupilage at 2 Harcourt Buildings (now 5 St Andrews Hill), where he practiced criminal and general common law. He continued at 5 Paper Buildings but did not take tenancy there, as he moved into his first role as an employed barrister, acting as General Counsel for a stockbroking firm, Merchant Securities Limited.

He moved to the Union Bank of Switzerland, London office in the legal and compliance department, where he managed the private banking and derivatives desks and was in charge of anti-money laundering procedures. He then went on to work for several investment banks, such as Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital and Standard Bank, as well as Aviva.

Before becoming interested in politics, he spent several years as general counsel for hedge fund managers such as Boyer Allan Investment Management LLP. He co-founded the Hedge Fund Lawyers Association, and was its chair for 2010 to 2012. Since 2019, Woolfe has also acted as a legal and regulatory consultant to financial institutions.