Further to previous reports of a Bristol City Councillor being flown in from America for vital votes:
We have an official identification! Our transatlantic telecommuting councillor is Shirley Marshall, representing Ashley Ward. Representations have been made to the city clerk, but it would appear that the "six month rule" after which her office would be deemed abandonded has yet to be invoked. No news on whether Ms Marshall plans to voluntarily stand down, or whether she will keep jetting in for the next 3 years until she fights the next Ashley ward election in 2011.
Councillor Marshall was elected in 2007 by a narrow margin of 110 votes, and is also - by phone, presumably - a School Governor at Cabot School, where she is supposed to be acting as "Looked After Children Governor" with responsibility for keeping an eye on those particularly vulnerable pupils who are in the care of the state, God help them. Perhaps she does that by email.
I wonder who pays for the flights?
20 May, 2008 - 09:25
Given that in the event of a by-election in Ashley ward the Greens would have a very good chance of winning it, isn't it ironic that a by-election is being forestalled by jetting-in the sitting councillor from the US?
20 May, 2008 - 20:14
That's actually a tricky question.
In the event that plane on which Councillor Marshall was travelling crashed with the loss of all on board and thus triggered a by-election due to her untimely death - when her presence on the plane was itself an attempt to prevent the same by-election - then that would certainly be ironic.
I think I'm channelling Ed Byrne here.
Here are the election results; draw your own conclusions:
Candidate Party Votes %
Shirley Marshall Liberal Democrat 1237 37.36
Daniella Elsa Radice Green Party 1127 34.04
Ricky Orlando Nelson The Labour Party Candidate 765 23.10
Nyla Jabeen Qureshi The Conservative Party Candidate 182 5.50
Good effort, Nyla!
JMB