Jenny Willott's leafy London 'controversy'

The latest Jon Owen Jones Labour publicity (scans below) has, on the back page, a section on "Who do you want as your MP?" The last of the three small paragraphs is devoted to "Lib Dem candidate" Jenny Willott.

No other candidate in Cardiff Central has a record to match Jon's. The Lib Dem candidate caused controversy after abandoning her leafy London Council seat halfway through her term. Hardly a track record of standing by those she is meant to represent!

Intrigued I set about finding out a bit more about Jenny Willott's previously unheard of London career and the controversy JOJ alleges to have occurred.

First stop is JW's website - the website-in-a-website - and her biography page. There are details of her time in London at university and working for Welsh Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik. On her BBC News Vote 2001 profile page she is listed as having been a councillor in Merton (London) 1998 - 2000.

References to her resignation appear in Merton Council records of meetings on 27th September 2000 and 4th October 2000 which notes a byelection to be held 9th November 2000. The only news report that can be found is Ambitious plans cause councillor's resignation from 6th October 2000, which reads:

Ambitions to become an MP have fired Merton councillor Jenny Willott and prompted her to resign from the council.

Miss Willott, 26, will be standing as Liberal Democrat candidate for Cardiff Central at the next general election.

She has called it a day as one of three Lib Dem councillors for West Barnes.

She is confident of being returned at her first attempt, having targeted the Welsh seat after her parents moved there six years ago, but says she will miss Merton.

There will be a council by election on Thursday, November 9.

When asked about this controversial abandonment a Cardiff Central Labour party worker was excited "Yes! Yes she did!" Speaking to Jon Owen Jones, who didn't have all the facts to hand, was an interesting experience. He saw a connection with Lembit Opik and her parents moving to South Wales but had little to add further to what was published.

Jenny Willott's party workers were engaged in a debate about the "line on London" when JW herself arrived and took charge. There was nothing controversial, she insisted. One could not live in Cardiff and represent people in London. People move around politics all the time. There were details of her West Barnes ward experience available, she said. When pressed as to why none appeared on any material produced by her or her campaign she said she thought it had been put on her 2001 publicity but that London was a long time ago and didn't seem so relevant. She also said that obviously had she known she would not be serving her full 4 years on the local council she would not have stood.

There doesn't seem to have been much controversy from the records we have, but 2000 was still a very long time ago for the internet and we can't claim there were no more reports or opinions - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence after all. But equally this might have been the extent of the 'controversy'. JOJ's campaign isn't using this as a central plank in their argument or anything but I felt it was a mention that deserved further investigation. To what extent we care I will leave up to the comments.