EDITOR'S VIEW: Why South Tyneside councillor Alex Barr's assault conviction should not be ignored
“It was, quite simply, a shameful and reprehensible act from which, as a representative of the good folk of Primrose, there is no return.”
After being convicted of assaulting a barman during a drunken night out, Primrose councillor Alex Barr has done the honourable thing… and tried to cling onto his job with a sob story of his own!
Welcome to Politics 2.0. Why apologise and gracefully exit the stage with whatever dignity you can muster when you can bluff it out and keep taking the taxpayers’ coin?
The elusive former Reform UK councillor broke cover last week after the Shields Gazette reported the details of the court case in which the 57-year-old was convicted of common assault.
In case you missed it, Cllr Barr got drunk, argued with a barman who refused to serve him shots and then threw a bottle which hit the pub worker on the head. This was followed by a further altercation which, according to his solicitor, amounted to 'summary punishment' from customers.
His constituents at least finally understood why he had vanished from view. Following the assault at the Lord Nelson pub in Jarrow, magistrates fined him £2,115 and ordered him to pay £250 compensation, an £846 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
It was, quite simply, a shameful and reprehensible act from which, as a representative of the good folk of Primrose, there is no return. Except, Cllr Barr reckons not.
Having left Reform UK shortly after the incident to sit as an independent, he's been weighing up his options.
Does he make a dignified exit and say sorry for his actions which have sullied the reputation of South Tyneside Council and let down the people who voted him into office, or does he stay on the councillor payroll until the next election? Hmm… I know where my money’s going.
Of course, that's my view. In Cllr Barr's eyes, the whole sorry episode was simply 'a mistake'.
And, hey, we’ve all made mistakes.
And while you may think the man hit with the bottle thrown by the dishonourable member for Primrose was the only victim in this unpleasant incident, Cllr Barr has news for you. He was a victim too!
And he signals this by telling us: “I’m not playing the victim here, but I was taken to hospital in an ambulance…”
To be fair, he was seriously injured in the ensuing altercation, but two wrongs don't make a right.
Cllr Barr goes on to invoke the death of academic and author Jason Arday, the youngest black professor in Cambridge University's history, to accuse his political opponents of hypocrisy over the pressure they've put him under.
We are seeing this deflection tactic more and more in politics and it’s an ugly trait.
Cllr Barr says he’s 50-50 about continuing in his role. The man has been conspicuous by his absence from council meetings. He says he’s done his bit supporting residents ‘via the online system’ but he’s hardly busting a gut for his constituents.
Some of the biggest concerns in the Jarrow community are anti-social behaviour, alcohol abuse, violence, crime and intimidation.
Are worried constituents really going to seek help and advice on these subjects from a councillor convicted of a drunken assault on a Jarrow pub barman?
If Cllr Barr is genuinely interested in doing his bit for the constituents of Primrose and the wider South Tyneside public, I suggest he call time on this political misadventure.