Global InformationWinston McKenzie information
Winston McKenzie | |
|---|---|
 McKenzie in 2007 | |
| Born | 23 October 1953 Croydon, England |
| Occupation | Political activist |
| Political party | Unity in Action (2017–present) English Democrats (2015–2017) UKIP (2009–2015) Unity Party (2009) Conservative (2006–2008) Veritas (2005) Liberal Democrats (2002–2003) Labour (until 2001) |
| Relatives | Duke McKenzie (brother) Clinton McKenzie (brother) |
Winston Truman McKenzie (born 23 October 1953) is a British political activist and perennial candidate for public office. He is currently a founder and leader of the Unity in Action Party. He has been a member of every major UK political party, and has stood as an independent or minor party candidate on numerous occasions without success.
A British Jamaican, McKenzie worked as a boxer before later running a pub with his brothers; it was closed down after police found many of its customers to possess weapons and drugs.
He was a member of the Labour Party from the 1980s until 2001. The following year he joined the Liberal Democrats, staying with them until 2003; he then remained politically independent for some time before becoming a member of Veritas, going back to standing as an independent, then back to Veritas to unsuccessfully contest their leadership election. In 2006 he joined the Conservative Party, standing to be their London mayoral candidate but failing to be shortlisted, before becoming a political independent again.
In 2009, he tried to establish his own Unity Party, but this failed owing to a lack of financial backing; McKenzie then joined the UK Independence Party. He stood for its leadership in 2010 and was the UKIP candidate in the 2012 Croydon North by-election, where he came third with 5.7% of the vote - his best ever election performance. He served as UKIP's Commonwealth spokesman from 2014 until 9 March 2015, when he was sacked over a series of gaffes.[1]
After an acrimonious departure from UKIP, McKenzie joined the English Democrats in December 2015 and attempted to run for Mayor of London in the 2016 election. That year, he competed on the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother, and was the first contestant to be eliminated, after receiving negative attention for his views on homosexuality.[2] In 2017, he left the English Democrats and founded his own party, Unity in Action.
Once a regular fixture in British politics, standing in up to three elections per year, McKenzie has stood for public office only once since 2018. He blamed an abortive attempt to stand for Mayor of London in 2021 on difficulties he encountered with filling out forms.
He stood in the 2022 Croydon Mayoral Election as an independent, campaigning on a platform based largely on local economic stimulation and regeneration.[3] He received 1,324 (1.4%) votes, losing to Conservative candidate and former councillor for South Croydon, Jason Perry.[4]
- ^ "UKIP's Winston McKenzie has been sacked from position as Commonwealth Spokesperson by Nigel Farage". East London Lines. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ "Celebrity Big Brother 2016: Winston McKenzie angers viewers with 'disgusting' homophobic comments". The Independent. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ Council, Croydon (May 2022). "Mayor of Croydon election 2022 candidate booklet" (PDF).
- ^ "5 May 2022 Election Results - Mayoral election results". Croydon Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.