Is time running out on the joke which passes for the political “career” of the “Chump from the Dump”, Winston McKenzie?

Winston McKenzie: that’s not Nigel Farage on the phone after all

The Daily Wail is reporting today that McKenzie has been sacked as UKIP’s “Commonwealth spokesman” by Nigel Farage’s national organisation. That move could make it easier for McKenzie’s de-selection as the party’s candidate for Croydon North at May’s General Election.

McKenzie has been Croydon’s most colourful wannabe politician for a decade, as he has bed-hopped from one party to another in the desperate search for somewhere which would tolerate his eccentric conduct, and get him a winnable seat. There is even a view that as long as McKenzie was a regular candidate in Croydon politics, there was no longer any opening for a Monster Raving Loony on the ballot paper.

But since proclaiming Croydon to be “a dump” in car-crash national television news reports last May, McKenzie seemed to be on borrowed time even with gaffe-prone UKIP.

Last week, UKIP re-organised its local branches, appointing a new chairman in Croydon North as McKenzie and his “personal assistant”, Marianne Bowness, the former local treasurer, were sidelined from positions of authority. This all follows an investigation into a failure to properly account for a large cash donation, which has yet to be resolved.

According to the newspaper report, even Farage – the “guv’nor”, according to McKenzie, who once compared his party leader to Jesus Christ – has no longer got time to speak to him on the phone. 

Might the final straw have been an interview which McKenzie gave at the recent UKIP conference in Margate, when this time he compared Farage to Dr Martin Luther King?

In the same interview, McKenzie’s difficulties with equality issues showed itself again when he expressed himself to be “dismayed” with transgender former boxing promoter Kellie Maloney, who had just been the star turn at Farage’s election rally.

McKenzie, the failed night club-owner and ex-boxer, appeared to be in denial when speaking to the newspaper today: “I’ve had a very good run and thought I was doing pretty well with it, but bigger people than me have been moved around jobs,” he said.

The UKIP leader was not available to take Winston “The Chump” McKenzie’s call

Local UKIP activists are now wondering whether McKenzie will fulfil certain key requirements to enable him to go forward as the party’s General Election candidate, with doubts about whether McKenzie has submitted his election address documentation to UKIP head office by last week’s deadline, or been successful in raising the £600 required towards his candidate deposit and other election expenses.

“He said he was too busy to help with the Selhurst by-election,” one local UKIP member told Inside Croydon, “but has he in fact done anything to campaign in Croydon North since he was selected six months ago? Certainly, the branch have no interest in supporting his campaign.”

So, that could be a few extra votes for Vidhi “Where Is Croydon North?” Mohan then…

• UKIP Croydon leader forced to apologise for ‘crass’ members
• UKIP condemned for election call ahead of councillor’s funeral
• McKenzie backed as candidate but not trusted to run UKIP branch
• UKIP’s Winston McKenzie quizzed over Carnival payments

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