Suzanne Evans | |
|---|---|
 Evans in 2016 | |
| Head of the UKIP Policy Committee | |
| In office 29 November 2016 – 11 June 2017 | |
| Leader | Paul Nuttall |
| Preceded by | Mark Reckless |
| Succeeded by | Margot Parker |
| Deputy Chair of the UK Independence Party | |
| In office 29 November 2016 – 11 June 2017 Serving with The Earl of Dartmouth | |
| Leader | Paul Nuttall |
| Preceded by | Diane James |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Dartmouth |
| In office 4 August 2014 – 24 February 2016 Serving with Neil Hamilton | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Diane James |
| UKIP Spokesperson for Health | |
| In office 1 December 2016 – 11 June 2017 | |
| Leader | Paul Nuttall |
| Preceded by | Louise Bours |
| Succeeded by | Julia Reid |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1965 (age 60–61) |
| Party | Conservative(before 2013) UK Independence Party(2013–2018) |
| Alma mater | Lancaster University |
Suzanne Elizabeth Evans (born February 1965)[1] is an Englishjournalist and politician, formerly associated with theUK Independence Party (UKIP).
On 6 May 2010, Evans was elected as aConservative councillor in theLondon Borough of Merton Council.[2] She resigned the Conservative whip on 15 May 2013,[3] and then became a councillor with UKIP from 29 May 2013[4] to 22 May 2014.[5]
Evans was Deputy Chair of UKIP from 2014 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017,[6] withNeil Hamilton and laterThe Earl of Dartmouth.[7] She was suspended from the party between March and September 2016, and was unable to run in itsSeptember 2016 leadership election before being re-appointed to the post of Deputy Chairman byPaul Nuttall. She was one of the three candidates in the party'sNovember 2016 leadership election. She was a spokeswoman for the party and the co-author of its election manifesto in 2015 and 2017. She resigned from the party in December 2018, over the appointment ofStephen Yaxley-Lennon as an advisor to party leaderGerard Batten.[8]
Evans stood as the UKIP candidate in theShrewsbury and Atcham constituency in the2015 general election.
Suzanne Elizabeth Evans[9] was born in February 1965.[1] Her father ran a watchmaking firm in Roushill inShrewsbury, and her mother was a teacher.[10]
Evans was educated atBaschurch Secondary Modern School, a state school in the village ofBaschurch in Shropshire, now known as the Corbet School, and then atShrewsbury Sixth Form College. She attendedLancaster University (1985–1987), from which she graduated with a BA in Religious Studies.[11][better source needed]
Evans trained as a journalist with theBBC and worked forBBC Radio in various roles from 1987 to 1999. OnBBC Radio 4, these included being a reporter and presenter on theSunday programme, and a reporter forWoman's Hour and for theToday programme.
She also worked forBBC Radio 5, for theBBC World Service, and also in several roles onBBC Local Radio.[11]
Since January 2000, Evans has worked as a freelancepublic relations (PR) and marketing consultant, as Suzanne Evans Communications.[12] She was also communications director at Aquarius PR from March 2006 to May 2013.[11]
Evans began her political career as a member ofMerton London Borough Council, elected inMay 2010. She was elected as aConservative councillor but resigned from the party in May 2013, citing a "poisonous war" within the party.[12][13] She switched her allegiance to theUK Independence Party, but lost her seat a year later.
She soon became UKIP's deputy chairwoman and head of policy, serving between July 2014 and February 2016.[14] She was primarily responsible for writing the UKIP 2015 manifesto, having taken over the job fromTim Aker.[15][16] Her success in producing a coherent and credible platform, following the debacle of the party's 2010 manifesto,[17] and her confident presentation of the completed document, prompted speculation that she might stand for leader of the party wereNigel Farage to resign after the2015 general election. She was obliged to deny that any such bid was contemplated.[15][18][19]
In 2014, Evans blamed poor UKIP support in London on the city's high number of "educated, cultured and young". She explained that she thought that in London, voters were "more likely, I think, to have read some of the negative press that's been about us, and I think they'd be more likely to believe it" whereas outside London people were more cynical about media reporting.[20] In April 2015, Evans blamed the British housing shortage on increased demand caused by mass migration, a theory also repeated by Nigel Farage in election debates.[citation needed]
Evans was the UKIP candidate for theShrewsbury and Atcham constituency in the 2015 general election,[21] finishing third with 14.4% of the total vote.[22]
On 8 May 2015,Nigel Farage recommended her as the Interim Leader of UKIP following his resignation, but within three days the National Executive Committee of the party had rejected the Farage resignation, and so he remained leader.[23]
On 18 June 2015, following comments made by Evans on the BBC'sDaily Politics, Evans commented that the public had a "perceived divisive" view ofNigel Farage. The UKIP press office then withdrew Evans as a media commentator for UKIP, pending an internal inquiry.[24]
On 23 March 2016, while still on the UKIP party list for the2016 London Assembly election, Evans was suspended for six months from the party by UKIP's internal disciplinary committee.[25] She, in turn, began legal action in theHigh Court against the decision, on the grounds that rules were allegedly being abused.[25] Her six-month suspension from the party lapsed on 23 September.
Evans launched her bid to become leader of UKIP in October 2016, following the resignation ofDiane James after 18 days in the job. Launching her campaign onThe Andrew Marr Show, Evans said she'd be the "strong centre" and described herself and fellow candidatePaul Nuttall as "Team Sensible" compared to fellow candidateRaheem Kassam, following extreme comments from the soon-to-resign leadership candidate. When the results were announced, on 28 November 2016, she came a distant second out of the remaining three, and lost her deposit with 19.3% of the vote.[citation needed]
Evans founded theLipoedema UK charity in 2011, after discovering that she suffers from the condition.[26]
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