Suzanne Elizabeth Evans (born February 1965) is an English journalist and politician, formerly associated with the UK Independence Party (UKIP). On 6 May 2010, she was elected as a Conservative councillor in the London Borough of Merton Council. She resigned the Conservative whip on 15 May 2013, and then became a councillor with UKIP from 29 May 2013 to 22 May 2014. Evans was Deputy Chair of UKIP from 2014 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017, with Neil Hamilton and later The Earl of Dartmouth. She was suspended from the party between March and September 2016, and was unable to run in its September 2016 leadership election before being re-appointed to the post of Deputy Chairman by Paul Nuttall. She was one of the three candidates in the party's November 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 of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon as an advisor to party leader Gerard Batten. She stood as the UKIP candidate in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency in the 2015 general election. Early life Suzanne Elizabeth Evans was born in February 1965. Her father ran a watchmaking firm in Roushill in Shrewsbury, and her mother was a teacher. 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. 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. 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. 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