Craig Mackinlay

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Craig Mackinlay, Baron Mackinlay of Richborough, JP, is a British Conservative politician and businessman. He was the Member of Parliament for South Thanet from 2015 to 2024. He began his political career with UKIP, serving as deputy leader from 1997 to 2000 and as acting leader in 1997, and he was the party’s founding treasurer from 1993 to 1997. He joined the Conservative Party in 2005.

Before becoming an MP, Mackinlay served as a Medway Council councillor from 2007 to 2015. In the 2015 general election, he won South Thanet, defeating UKIP leader Nigel Farage. In Parliament, he sat on the Brexit Select Committee and was linked with the Common Sense Group. He later led the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, a small group of Conservatives who questioned the pace and cost of net-zero policies.

Mackinlay was involved in a high-profile campaign spending investigation over the 2015 election. In 2017, he was charged by police under the Representation of the People Act 1983, along with his election agent and another party activist. He was acquitted in January 2019. One of the other individuals involved, Marion Little, was convicted of falsifying election expenses.

In September 2023, Mackinlay contracted sepsis and his condition required an induced coma for 16 days. He underwent a quadruple amputation of his lower limbs in December 2023 and later used prosthetic limbs. He made a notable return to public life, receiving a standing ovation when he appeared in the House of Commons in May 2024 and speaking about his recovery.

Mackinlay stood down as an MP at the 2024 general election. He was created Baron Mackinlay of Richborough, of Rochester in the County of Kent, on 23 August 2024 and was introduced to the House of Lords on 17 October 2024. In the Lords, he pledged to raise awareness of sepsis and to push for better prosthetics for amputees.

He was born on 7 October 1966 in Chatham, Kent. He studied zoology at the University of Birmingham, qualifying as a chartered accountant (FCA) and a chartered tax adviser (CTA). He worked as a partner in a Kent firm. He is married to Katalin “Kati” Madi since 2011, and they have one daughter.