'Disappearing Donald': Ex-councillor forced to resign set to stand for Fife Council election

A former councillor who was forced to resign after moving more than 400 miles from his ward is looking to get back into local government.
Donald Adey, right, is hoping to be elected in Fife after being forced to resign in CambridgeshireDonald Adey, right, is hoping to be elected in Fife after being forced to resign in Cambridgeshire
Donald Adey, right, is hoping to be elected in Fife after being forced to resign in Cambridgeshire

Donald Adey had previously sought to remain on county and city councils in Cambridge, despite moving from his Trumpington ward to Cupar in Fife hundreds of miles away, but subsequently stood down amid growing calls for him to quit.

Now it has emerged that Mr Adey is keen on a return to frontline politics – standing as an independent candidate for Cupar in the upcoming Fife Council local elections on May 5.

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Mr Adey resigned as a councillor south of the border in 2019, having left Cambridge a year previously to start a new life in Cupar yet continued to claim £10,000 in allowances from the county council and £4,500 from the city council.

Since then though, Mr Adey has settled into life in Scotland and currently serves on Cupar Community Council.

Both Mr Adey and Gordon Pay, who chairs environmental group Sustainable Cupar, have this week signalled their intention to stand for election as independent councillors for Cupar, and have jointly launched a Net Zero Carbon campaign where they have committed not to waste natural resources as they ask for the public’s vote.

“We know many electors see the mountain of leaflets pushed through their doors as a complete waste and hope electors will welcome a fresh approach,” the environmental campaigners said in a statement.

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“The biggest issue facing us all is what kind of planet we will be passing on to future generations – global warming is real, and Cupar is waking up to that.

“Locally the Cupar North planned development could bring a carbuncle of a housing ghetto, if it is not planned properly.”

Mr Adey, who was given the unfortunate nickname ‘Disappearing Donald’ by his former local paper, will no doubt be hoping to put his Cambridgeshire episode firmly behind him.

Meanwhile, Mr Pay has already been responsible for producing a detailed response to the Cupar North planning application, which Cupar Community Council has now submitted to Fife Council as its formal response.

He said: “We’re not putting Fife Council’s own Climate Action Plan into practice, and what our current councillors are doing has just not been good enough.”

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