Suzanne Elizabeth Evans (born February 1965)[ is an English journalist and politician, formerly associated with the UK Independence Party (UKIP).
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On 6 May 2010, Evans was elected as a Conservative councillor in the London Borough of Merton Council.
Evans was Deputy Chair of UKIP from 2014 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017,
Evans stood as the UKIP candidate in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency in the 2015 general election.
Early life
Suzanne Elizabeth Evans[ Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency candidates. Shrewsbury Council. Retrieved 18 May 2015.] was born in February 1965.[ About Suzanne. Suzanne Evans, UKIP, 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.]
Evans was educated at Baschurch Secondary Modern School, a state school in the village of Baschurch in Shropshire, now known as the Corbet School, and then at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. She attended Lancaster University (1985–1987), from which she graduated with a BA in Religious Studies.[ Suzanne Evans. LinkedIn. Retrieved 18 April 2015.]
Media career
Evans trained as a journalist with the BBC and worked for BBC Radio in various roles from 1987 to 1999. On BBC Radio 4, these included being a reporter and presenter on the Sunday programme, and a reporter for Woman's Hour and for the Today programme.
She also worked for BBC Radio 5, for the BBC World Service, and also in several roles on BBC Local Radio.[
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Since January 2000, Evans has worked as a freelance public relations (PR) and marketing consultant, as Suzanne Evans Communications.[ She was also communications director at Aquarius PR from March 2006 to May 2013.][
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Political life
Evans began her political career as a member of Merton London Borough Council, elected in May 2010. She was elected as a Conservative councillor but resigned from the party in May 2013, citing a "poisonous war" within the party.[ "Defection to UKIP 'strong possibility' for former Merton Conservatives deputy leader Councillor Suzanne Evans". Lauren May, Wimbledon Guardian, 17 May 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2015.] She switched her allegiance to the UK 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.[ UKIP replaces policy chief before election. Andrew Osborn, Reuters, 21 January 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.] Her success in producing a coherent and credible platform, following the debacle of the party's 2010 manifesto,[ General Election 2015: Suzanne Evans dismisses suggestions of Ukip leadership bid as 'rubbish'. Jamie Merrill, The Independent, 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.][ "Rising star reveals Ukip as more than a one-man show" Lucy Fisher, The Times, 16 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015. ]
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.[ Losing Ukip councillor blames poor London polls on 'cultured elite'. Rowena Mason, The Guardian, 23 May 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.] 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.
Evans was the UKIP candidate for the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency in the 2015 general election,[ "Ukip announces its Shrewsbury election candidate" Shropshire Star, 29 May 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.] finishing third with 14.4% of the total vote.
After the 2015 general election
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.
On 18 June 2015, following comments made by Evans on the BBC's Daily Politics, Evans commented that the public had a "perceived divisive" view of Nigel Farage. The UKIP press office then withdrew Evans as a media commentator for UKIP, pending an internal inquiry.
On 23 March 2016, while still on the UKIP party list for the 2016 London Assembly election, Evans was suspended for six months from the party by UKIP's internal disciplinary committee.
UKIP leadership bid
Evans launched her bid to become leader of UKIP in October 2016, following the resignation of Diane James after 18 days in the job. Launching her campaign on The Andrew Marr Show, Evans said she'd be the "strong centre" and described herself and fellow candidate Paul Nuttall as "Team Sensible" compared to fellow candidate Raheem 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.
Charity work
Evans founded the Lipoedema charity in 2011, after discovering that she suffers from the condition.
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