Liberal Democrat councillor dozes off during cost of living scrutiny meeting
Emily Price
A Welsh Liberal Democrat fell asleep several times during a scrutiny meeting where Swansea councillors discussed the impact of the cost of living crisis.
On Monday (April 13), Swansea City Council held a remote evidence gathering session focused on education, as part of a wider inquiry into how the council and its partners are supporting residents facing financial pressures.
Footage of the virtual meeting, which began at 2:30pm, showed most councillors joining from home, while others took part via video link from Swansea’s Guildhall.
The evidence session lasted just over an hour, during which Sketty councillor Michael Locke appeared to doze off on several occasions.
A YouTube video of the meeting showed that at around 35 minutes into the session, Cllr Locke leaned back and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later he briefly roused, but as councillors began discussing financial pressures faced by parents – including debt and loan sharks – Cllr Locke appeared to slump back into a deeper sleep.
The Liberal Democrat continued to sleep while his fellow councillors discussed concerns that some children in the city were forced to steal food because they are coming to school hungry.
About 40 minutes into the meeting, Cllr Locke appeared to stir again, briefly reopening his eyes before closing them and folding his arms across his chest as councillors began discussing financial support for parents during the school holidays.
Cllr Locke’s video window then disappeared from the main screen for several minutes. When it reappeared the Lib Dem was sat up with his eyes open.
He did not contribute to the meeting and did not appear to take any notes as other councillors did.
It is unclear what his fellow councillors could see on their screens during the meeting, but none appeared to raise any concern that Cllr Locke was asleep.
Councillors in Wales are entitled to a basic annual salary of £19,771 but can be paid more depending on whether they hold extra responsibilities.
Nation.Cymru asked Cllr Locke whether the subject of the meeting had led him to lose interest and fall asleep.
He said: “I am suffering an attack of acute arthritis this caused pain in my legs and knees with very little sleep the night before the meeting.
“I am under the care of my GP for this condition. I expect this arthritis to clear up in time.
“I normally attend these meetings in person but because of fatigue I decided to attend online.
“Given how tired I was I should have sent my apologies and not attended this meeting.”
We also contacted the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ central press office to ask whether they were aware of Cllr Locke’s apparent dozing during the meeting.
Nation.Cymru did not receive a response.
Welsh Conservative Gŵyr Abertawe candidate Tom Giffard said: “It will come as a surprise to nobody to find the Lib Dems asleep at the wheel.
“Just take their record in Cardiff Bay; their sole Senedd Member has missed half of the votes in the Senedd in the past few years.
“And despite holding the balance of power in Cardiff Bay, they’ve delivered almost nothing in return for propping up a failing Labour Government.
“Swansea needs an energetic, tireless champion to fight for our city. The Lib Dems have demonstrated time and again they are a tired, old party with little to offer.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
