In what appears to be a running theme, a second local councillor has also moved to Europe and attempted to keep his job. Trevor Roper, a (now former) Green Party councillor for Thanet, upped sticks and left for France well over a year ago, yet continued to attend virtual council meetings and claimed an allowance of over £5000. Unlike Labour’s Dave Ward, who decided to serve his constituents from the rolling hills of southern Italy, Roper has now been forced to resign…

Roper also tried to cover up his big move for the last 12 months, claiming in a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps that he still lived in Kent, despite selling the Ramsgate home over a year prior. A slightly different approach to Ward, who was quite open about his new home, and reminded everyone “there’s this thing called the internet”.