I always imagined that one of the many perks of being British was the prerogative to drink all afternoon in pubs. Perhaps the former mayor of Gosport, a town on the south coast of England, thought this too. So it must have been a rude awakening when he found himself suddenly banned from every single bar in town.
Elected then Over-served
A former Royal Navy warrant officer, Wayne Ronayne may have gotten elected on the basis that his first and last names rhyme, but now, after just 40 days in office and an embarrassing drunken fiasco, the Conservative has stepped down from his position.
The incident in question took place on June 4th (or 4 June, as they say across the pond), Ronayne’s very first day in office. Politicians are bound to make enemies, but bloody hell, Wayne—you couldn’t make it through one day without pissing people off?
The Fuzzy Details
The newly sworn-in Ronayne and his partner Paula Carter were celebrating at local pub The Star with a group of nine friends and family members. After that, accounts of the night diverge wildly, as tends to happen when large amount of alcohol are consumed.
“I was sober when I arrived and sober when I left,” says the disgraced ex-mayor, who also claims he only drank one pint of beer before Star staff told him he “could no longer be served.” (The bar says they cut off Ronayne’s party because one of his group appeared to have fallen asleep.) When the mayor demanded to see the manager, the staff called the police. Although the local news reported that an argument broke out, Ronayne maintains, “There was no argument.” Since this was in England, maybe the argument consisted solely of wry, passive-aggressive backhanded compliments? But whatever happened, it was apparently enough to call in the cops.
The couple then proceeded to another nearby bar, Nelson’s, where they were refused entry due to their obvious intoxication, particularly that of the classy Ms. Carter. The mayoress (wow I love England) pulled the “Do you know who I am?” card and threatened to have the bar shut down if they refused to admit her. Her attitude did not pay off: while PubWatch barred Ronayne from all 36 of the city’s pubs for six months, Carter’s ban extends for a full year.
Facebook Sure Knows How To Ruin a Good Time
Of course, Ronayne wouldn’t admit to any wrongdoing in his resignation but instead blamed social media for his ruined rep. “My decision is not based on any admission of wrongdoing or my inability to undertake the role,” he insisted. “It is based on the now-damaging public perception of me that has been vigorously generated by certain members of our community. I do not wish to bring the position of the mayoralty into disrepute nor tarnish the good reputation of Gosport.”
Wayne Ronayne is believed to be the first person in the history of Gosport to leave the mayoralty before his first year had expired. But his political career isn’t completely washed up; he still gets to sit on the town council. And in six months he’ll be able to return to all his favorite haunts—except, of course, for the mayor’s office.
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