An Unfortunate Error by Councillor Cashmore?

Regular readers will know that I have recently been trawling through the Register of Members's Interests for the Labour Group of Sandwell Council and seem to have hit on a strange anomaly.

The Register for Councillor Lucy Rachael Cashmore is dated JULY 2012. In it she states that she is a "non-paying tenant" of xx Hall Road, Smethwick which is the address of her parents - Councillors Linda & Roger Horton. Councillor Linda Horton has, of course, just retired as Mayor of Sandwell.

I was perplexed at this unusual description and investigated further. There is no voluntary registration of any interest in any other property outside the Borough of Sandwell.

Now computerised Voters Roll checks can throw up inaccuracies but the Company I use shows a Lucy Cashmore occupying an address in Lindsworth Road in SOUTH BIRMINGHAM from 2008 until 2013 and not an address within Sandwell where she is an elected Councillor.

Surely this cannot be the same Lucy Cashmore who stood for election to Sandwell Council in May 2011 using the address of her Councillor parents rather than her own address? Strangely, she does not appear to have registered to vote at the Smethwick address!

A Land Registry check of the Lindsworth Road address shows that at today's date the property is owned by David Anthony Cashmore (who I believe may have been an employee of SMBC - don't know if he still is but one might assume that if he was then at some time his address would be "on the record") and, er, LUCY RACHAEL CASHMORE. They bought the property with title absolute with a registration date of 11th December, 2007.

Interestingly, Lindsworth Road is in the Brandwood Ward of Birmingham City Council and so it will be fascinating to discover whether Cllr Cashmore cast a vote in Brandwood on May 11th, 2011 where there was also an election.

I am sure there must be a simple explanation for all this which I await with interest!

(With grateful thanks to "Anon").

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