Labour councillor 'claimed she was travelling to Ireland after a bereavement when she was campaigning in Caerphilly'

Martin Shipton

A senior Labour councillor and would-be Senedd Member has been accused of misleading residents by saying she was travelling to Ireland following a family bereavement when she was actually canvassing in the Caerphilly by-election campaign.

Cllr Jennifer Burke is Cardiff council’s cabinet member for culture, sport and parks. She represents the Llandaff North ward.

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Availability

One of her ward constituents was concerned about her lack of availability and checked Cllr Burke’s social media postings.

The constituent sent a series of messages to Nation.Cymru:

7 October 6pm. Post on Instagram saying she’s travelling to Ireland due to bereavement.

Cllr Burke posted a message that said: “This morning my grandmother … died peacefully at the age of 104, surrounded by her children … Tomorrow, I travel to Ireland to say goodbye and celebrate her extraordinary life surrounded by the people and places that shaped us.

“I won’t be as contactable for a few days as my family and I gather to remember [her].”

An Irish news website based in Thurles, Tipperary, reported that Cllr Burke’s grandmother had died on October 7.

On Gabalfa and Llandaff Facebook 8 October, it says 4 days ago (Sat 4th) Kirsty posted that she’d tried arranging seeing Jen ‘today’ (Sat 4th), and Jen had replied she was going away at short notice.

Kirsty Davies posted: “Jennifer Burke is the Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Parks, but I’ve found her pretty useless! She holds a surgery every first Saturday of the month at the hub in Llandaff North. I wanted to see her today regarding trees, but she’s emailed to say she was going away at short notice!”.

Cllr Burke posted a message to Ms Davies on the Gabalfa and Llandaff Facebook Community page on Sunday October 5 stating: “Hi Kirsty, thanks for your message - I believe we’ve been in touch by email yesterday, and I’ve got a Teams call with you booked for Monday morning to discuss your concerns. I wasn’t able to hold my usual surgery this weekend as I’ve had to travel to Ireland following a family bereavement, but I’m looking forward to speaking with you then.”

Kirsty Davies responded, stating: “Yes, looking forward to our Teams meeting. I’ve been trying to get an issue sorted with you for 18 months.”

Cllr Burke replied: “Thanks Kirsty - I’m glad we’ve got time booked in to talk on Monday. I’ve had a look back through my inbox and the only email I can see from you is from yesterday, so I’ll make sure we cover everything fully during our call to get this moving forward.”

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Instagram

However, on October 4 - the day she said she had cancelled her surgery because she’d had to travel at short notice to Ireland - Cllr Burke had posted a message to Instagram which said: “Out all day across Caerphilly, talking to voters about what Labour delivers for our communities and getting the postal vote out.

“A Senedd Member should be out there, campaigning and listening - not just at election time, but all the time.

“The choice in this by-election is clear: Labour or Reform UK. We can’t let them roll back the progress we made, or let Plaid divide the bonds that make Wales stronger.

“Every doorstep conversation matters. Every vote counts.”

There are photographs of Cllr Burke on social media that show her campaigning in Caerphilly with Cardiff council leader Cllr Huw Thomas and deputy leader and cabinet member for education, Cllr Sarah Merry.

Discrepancies

We emailed Cllr Burke, stating: “We have been contacted by a source in Llandaff North who has highlighted apparent discrepancies in your social media posts which suggest that you misled people in your ward about your availability to attend a meeting with them.

“The allegation is that you claimed you were unable to attend the meeting because you were travelling to Ireland because of a bereavement when you were in fact canvassing in Caerphilly for the forthcoming by-election and only travelled to Ireland days later.”

We invited Cllr Burke to comment, but she has not done so.

Cllr Burke has been shortlisted for a place on Labour’s closed list for next year’s Senedd election in the new “super-constituency” called Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf.