My favourite story of the week was the wrong person being elected to Silloth Town Council.

Peter Groucott was announced as a councillor, despite not receiving enough votes to win a seat.

His wife Karen Groucott, who was also standing, did receive enough votes for a seat. But the Allerdale Council returning officer read out the name of the wrong Groucott.

You might think that when the mistake was pointed out, it would have been rectified.

If only life was so simple.

Lindsay Tomlinson of Allerdale Council said: “Due to electoral law, once the result is formally announced, it has to stand.”

Part of me thinks this is ridiculous. Another part thinks it is absolutely brilliant.

It opens up all kinds of possibilities.

This might be the catalyst for a wave of sabotage at election counts.

Forget all those expensive and time-consuming weeks of campaigning.

All you have to do is swap the piece of paper the returning officer reads out with one which contains the winner of your choice.

If the result has to stand once it’s been read, it wouldn’t even need to include the name of someone who was a candidate.

“I didn’t realise Justin Bieber had been standing for Aspatria Town Council. Oh well, this should be interesting.”

Would the law then compel the “winner” to become a councillor?

Future generations might wonder why Bieber vanished from the world of pop music for four years.

But he put that time to good use by campaigning for better street lights in the town - and a landing strip for his private jet - before being replaced by a surprised Taylor Swift.

At a national level, many would argue that celebrities might do better than politicians.

Would Brexit negotiations have taken so long if Sharon Osbourne was Prime Minister?

I wonder what would happen if someone wrote the name of a fictional character on the returning officer’s paper.

I suspect that fictional characters have already been elected. That would explain Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Thinking about it, this could be a great opportunity to shake up British politics.

Distract the returning officer while a fellow conspirator writes ‘Barack Obama, 27,512 votes’ on their paper.

“I’m sorry, Mr Obama - I’m sure you don’t want to serve on Blennerhasset and Torpenhow Parish Council. But rules are rules.”