Mother of three, community activist at large seeks post in local government; usual suspects outraged
“She’s a marvellous person. She’s just thrown herself-into helping the community, and there aren’t a lot of people like that around these days,” explains Lorraine Blain, 38, who runs the local pub.
“She raised money for the school, helping them buy laptops, and she’s forever talking about how we’ve got to do something for the youngsters, to stop them loitering at the local convenience store every night.”
No surprises then that her fellow mums supported Donna when she told them she was thinking of standing for the parish council.
Indeed, her being appointed seemed assured, given that at most meetings she was the only one of the public who deigned to turn up to watch the proceedings.
That was, however, until a startling discovery was made by existing members of the parish council. A little bit of internet research – carried out, it seems, more through curiosity than anything else – revealed that nice blonde, friendly, efficient Donna was, in fact, a member of the British National Party, and a very active member at that.
It is a worry that is keeping Simon Birnstingl awake. As the council member who was most vociferously opposed to her application, he is very personally involved here.
Hhe made a passionate appeal for his fellow councillors to reject her, using his own emotive personal history as part of his argument.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that – and I had to abstain from the second vote because of it – but I told them that members of my family had been victims of the Holocaust.
The prospect of those cattle wagons is a very real one to me.”*
* When simple insolence fails, bring up the holocaust. — Ed.