Newly elected Green councillor sells Range Rover for fully electric Porsche

One of the Green party’s newly elected Bristol councillors has been criticised for driving a Range Rover. But Cllr Abdul Malik said that he sold the car prior to the recent local election campaign and has since invested in a fully electric Porsche Taycan.

Cllr Malik was voted in as a councillor in the May 2 Bristol City Council elections and now represents the Ashley Ward along with two other Green councillors. The turnout was 43 per cent and Cllr Malik received a total of 3,691 votes.

But the newly elected councillor has faced some criticism for owning a Range Rover, especially living in Easton very close to central Bristol. However Cllr Malik has said he has now sold the vehicle - although it took him three years to do so as 'nobody wanted to buy it'.

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Speaking to Bristol Live he said: “I understand that it’s a big car, it’s a combustion engine, it’s diesel, it takes up a lot of space. I have had the odd message and I get it, but at the end of the day, we can’t be judged by the cars we drive.

"I had ordered an electric car in 2022, I’m really happy, I now have a Porsche Taycun which is fully electric. I’ve installed an electric point, I have the only electric point on the whole road.

“The Range Rover is gone but it was in the Auto Trader for three years, believe it or not and nobody wanted to buy it. Nationally they are being broken into and stolen.

“My mum’s disabled and I had a really bad back and it was an exceptionally good vehicle for a high posture person who’s got back issues. But it’s huge, you can’t park it anywhere in Easton, it is a nightmare."

Speaking about the criticism he had received over the vehicle he said: “The Greens are from different walks of life, which is exactly what a political party should be."

Cllr Malik joined the Green Party in 2021 after he fell out with the local Labour administration over their plans to pedestrianise St Marks Road. Despite his own personal opposition to the scheme, he described the Greens as being ‘very open to listening’.

He said that his current priorities as councillor are centred around healthcare and education. A successful campaign supported by the previous Labour councillor, Amirah Cole helped to secure a new dental surgery in St Pauls which has since been inundated by patients.

The new Green councillor says that he wants to support locals who can’t get a GP appointment and make sure people are happy with the local schools. He said he plans on stationing himself at the Green Melon on Ashley Road a few times a week so that locals can talk to him about any concerns.