Worthing political figure passes away: ‘he was a funny, wise and very kind man’

An environmentalist and campaigner from Worthing has passed away.
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David Aherne stood as a parliamentary candidate for Worthing West several times and was a founding father of the Green Party.

He passed away at home in Angus Road, Goring, on July 27 aged 77.

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His son Daniel paid tribute to him. He said: “He was a funny, wise and very kind man. He’d like to be remembered as someone who left the world in a better place than he found it.”

David Aherne, longstanding Worthing West MP candidate, has passed awayDavid Aherne, longstanding Worthing West MP candidate, has passed away
David Aherne, longstanding Worthing West MP candidate, has passed away

Born in Notting Hill on 24 July 1943, David spent most of his life campaigning for animal rights and safeguarding of the environment, and became secretary of the British Union Against Vivisection: operating on live animals for scientific research.

He met his wife Jennifer in 1976 through their mutual opposition to fox hunting.

She was hospitalised after being whipped by a fox hunter during a hunt sabotage mission, and he visited her as a Brighton Borough councillor to offer his support.

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They married in 1977 and Daniel arrived the following year, and their second child Alison in 1982.

During his tenure on the council in the Conservative party, David secured a ban on circuses using animals from performing in Brighton.

He stood down as a councillor and then worked with the Ecology Party, which then became the Green Party in 1985.

In 2001 David and Jennifer moved from Brighton to Goring for a quieter life, and Jennifer passed away in 2008.

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In 2014, David successfully persuaded HMRC to keep the disabled access at Durrington railway station open until after the last train had departed, where they had previously locked it at 9pm. At the time, he said: “I’m absolutely delighted.

“I thought it was a dreadful injustice restricting people who are disabled and it was a terrible situation.”

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