OBITUARY : Keith Taylor (1953-2022)
OBITUARY : Keith Taylor (1953-2022)
Taylor was born in Rochford, Essex on 1 August 1953. After running his own business in Brighton, he became involved in local politics and was elected as a Green Party councillor for St. Peter’s ward on Brighton and Hove Borough Council in 1999. Between August 2004 and November 2006, Taylor was the party’s Principal Speaker, alongside Caroline Lucas.
He stood for the Green Party in Brighton Pavilion in 2001 and 2005, securing 9.3% of the vote and then 21.9% of the vote, a then record high for the party. Although he was keen to stand again in 2010, Caroline Lucas was instead selected to fight for constituency and she won with 31.3% of the vote. Despite the challenging situation, Taylor supported Lucas in her election campaign.
Lucas’s victory in 2010 meant that Taylor became an MEP for South East England, a role that he was to hold until 2019. Taylor died on 31 October 2022 at the age of 69.
