Council Meeting (3) Cllr Peter May

(With apologies for the delay in getting back to this)

I now return to Cllr Peter May's performance at the meeting. When I used to write film criticism or book reviews, my general policy was not to review bad films or books (unless they were really bad, wrong or deceitful). There was no pleasure in it – so I'd just ignore them. I apply those criteria here as well. I take no pleasure in it, but I consider that it is in the public interest to be open what went on. What was that poncy expression I heard the other day – 'speak truth to power', a bit 'High Falutin' perhaps, but nonetheless seems true here at least.

Well to describe what he did as 'performance' would be to make it more than it was; as it would suggest that there was some degree of intention, practice or rehearsal. There wasn't any of that. It was almost as if he was the understudy – but one who hadn't bothered to learn the lines. But he's had near enough eighteen months. Given his educational qualifications, he clearly can't be stupid, but it was a shockingly poor show. Abysmal really. As an ex-Cabinet Member myself I know that you can asked really complicated left-field questions, but he was unable to answer the simplest questions without prompting from the officers behind him. He seemed shaky about the most basic information - even stuff he might have reasonably been expected to know something about (and seemed indeed to be literally shaking – fear?). It was almost as if he had been ambushed, he was so unprepared! He was so far out of his depth that I almost felt sorry for him. Almost!

I refer to this, not because, he is a political opponent, but because it is a matter of concern. Achieving the Welsh Quality Housing Standard is a significant issue for the City & County of Swansea. Since the Authority's tenants comprehensively rejected stock transfer, Cllr May has seemed bereft of any credible ideas as to what he and his Lib-Dem/Independent colleagues could do. When he wasn't blaming the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), [they had rejected as unfeasible what proposals he had come up with] he seemed to be suggesting that it was the tenants own fault for voting the way they did. Frankly they deserve better, they deserve someone who could at least appear to engage with the problem.

Compare this dismal showing with the confident and knowledgeable performance regularly delivered from Cllr Mike Day. Disagree with him or not – he is clearly a man on top of his brief – Peter May seemed imprisoned by his.