Controversial councillor loses her seat in Belfast
Controversial politician Jolene Bunting has insisted she will “not be deterred” after losing her seat on Belfast City Council.
The independent unionist polled just 351 votes in the first stage of the count in the Court DEA on Saturday, and failed to attract enough transfers to be elected.
Ms Bunting was initially elected as a TUV representative in 2014, before leaving the party in 2017.
No candidates have reached the quota for Court. The next stage of the count will be the exclusion of Jolene Bunting (Independent) #BelfastLE19
— Belfast City Council (@belfastcc) May 4, 2019
Ms Bunting went on to become associated with Britain First, although she has insisted she was never a member.
She reacted to her poor showing at the count for Belfast City Council by insisting she will “not be deterred”.
She posted on social media: “While I am obviously disappointed with today’s results, I’m not deterred.
“I will continue to fight for my children’s future. I will never surrender.”
Ms Bunting received a four-month interim suspension from council last year from the Local Government Commissioner for Standards as it investigated 14 complaints which had been made against her.
These included comments she made on a video published in December 2017 outside the Belfast Islamic Centre and her participation in a Britain First rally in Belfast in August 2017.
