Croydon’s political chameleon Winston Mckenzie said he is planning to give one of the London mayoral candidates "a heart attack" to get himself back in the race to run City Hall, after he was eliminated from the election for failing to file his paperwork on time.
The former Ukip member said he was "very upset” with himself for missing yesterday's deadline after officials spotted a duplicated signature on his nomination form.
The blunder means Mr McKenzie's latest party - the English Democrats - will no longer be fielding a candidate in next month's poll despite raising a reported £20,000 to fund his mayoral bid.
But the ex-boxer, who had a short-lived stint in the Celebrity Big Brother House (CBB) in January to "raise publicity" for his campaign, today claimed he bore no responsibility for the signature mix-up - despite not meeting with election bosses until two hours before the nomination deadline.
He said: "I'm very disappointed with London Elects, for the simple fact that once again it's bureaucracy that has won the day, not democracy. One of the voters - I think it was in the Dagenham area - she had already signed for someone else.
"You go out and bring in 330 signatures and wait four years for your opportunity, and because one signature [is duplicated] they say it's too late, there's no time to renew it and the whole form is spoiled. It's not my fault."
When asked if there were any steps he could take to reinstate his name on the ballot paper, Mr McKenzie said: "I was thinking of bringing some paper bags and popping it behind the ears of one of the other candidates and them having a heart attack. They would have to re-run [the nominations]."
He thought the ideal candidate for this electoral tomfoolery would be Respect party leader and fellow former CBB contestant George Galloway, adding: "They put him under a lot of pressure. They always pick on us."
A London Elects spokeswoman said Mr McKenzie's paperwork was "incomplete" when he held his first meeting with officials at 1.45pm yesterday.
She added: "Mr McKenzie was given the opportunity to resolve matters by the 4pm legal deadline.
"Mr McKenzie and his agent did not submit all the paperwork by the 4pm deadline. Upon inspection, the incomplete forms contained errors which would have invalidated the nomination - in the form of duplicate signatures from other candidates’ nomination papers."
Mr McKenzie was adamant that "under normal circumstances" his paperwork would have been filed "a week early".
But he claimed his sojourn in the spotlight two months ago had derailed preparations.
He said: "What happened was my campaign started rather late. I was tied up, not literally, in the Big Brother House.
"I came out of there needing to rest but I went straight into the campaign, and it has been very, very difficult."
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The 62-year-old was the first to be kicked off CBB after causing outrage among fellow housemates and the public with his views on homosexuality and gay adoption.
Despite raking in a reported six-figure sum for appearing on the show, Mr McKenzie had been fundraising for his campaign on the website GoFundMe.
To date, the page has raised £140 of its £60,000 target.
He said: "I'm not disappointed with that. People are not to enthused with politicians right now. They don't want to back Zac, they don't want to back Sadiq.
"If I was [running as an] independent I would have probably raised a lot more money."
Mr Mckenzie, who has stood in past elections as a candidate for Ukip, the Conservatives, and as an independent, claimed English Democrats chairman Robin Tilbrook had put £20,000 "in cash, on the table" yesterday to fund the now-aborted campaign for City Hall.
Mr McKenzie said party bosses were "very disappointed", adding: "This was the party's chance to get a flamboyant, vibrant, successful politician.
"I'm different from all the politicians, I'm able to connect with people, particularly the youth."
When contacted by the Croydon Guardian, Mr Tilbrook declined to criticize his party's failed candidate.
He said: "I'm not into the blame game. It's just one of those things. It's obviously disappointing when you have got everything sorted out and you end up failing at the last minute.
"I'm sure [Mr McKenzie] would have done fine, but it doesn't matter really what he would have done because he's not standing.
"My take on it is, the London mayoralty, the powers that be, have really made it the most difficult thing to stand in an elected position in the whole country."
RELATED: 'Celebrity' politician Winston McKenzie works as a paper boy for the Croydon Guardian
Mr McKenzie said he was "100 per cent" planning to remain a member of the English Democrats and promised his next crusade would be "eliminating Uber and saving London's black cabs".
He also revealed he had been keeping busy with his part-time job – as a paper boy delivering the Croydon Guardian.
He said: "You've got to keep your feet on the ground, keep it real."
Got a story? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6388 or email daniel.omahony@newsquest.co.uk
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