Neath Port Talbot‘s council leader has stepped down, and admitted he got so drunk at a private function that he fell over.
The council announced on Monday that Cllr Steve Hunt had resigned as leader for personal reasons.
In the council’s statement, he said the role carried “a significant level of responsibility, time and commitment”, and whoever held it should be able to give it “the full attention and dedication it deserves”.
He said: “For personal reasons, I no longer have the time and capacity required to give the role the commitment necessary to do it justice.”
He added: “This is not a decision I have taken lightly, and I remain committed to serving the people of Neath Port Talbot.”
But in a fuller statement of his own, the Independent councillor admitted he “drank far too much alcohol” at an invitation-only event and “did fall over later in the evening”.
He said: “I am not proud of that and I accept that, as someone holding a senior elected position, I should have exercised better judgement.”
He also admitted saying he wanted to “wipe out” Plaid Cymru politically, the party that has run the council with his Independents since 2022.
He said the heated discussions were about the Wales Communities First Independent Party, which he has registered.
He said: “That was an inappropriate political comment made while I was intoxicated, and I accept responsibility for it.”
He said the remark should be understood as “political banter and disagreement at the end of a long evening, rather than as a threat”. He apologised “unreservedly” to the Plaid Cymru group leader the following morning.
He said he had since sought views from senior colleagues in the Welsh Local Government Association, and understood that former Rhondda Cynon Taf Council leader Andrew Morgan, who was also at the event, had described his conduct as exemplary apart from the fact that he was drunk.
Hunt denies gin brag and attacking the Welsh language
Cllr Hunt rejected claims he had bragged about drinking a whole bottle of gin.
He said he had told people he “had drunk a considerable amount of gin”, but only to explain why he was so intoxicated.
He also “strongly” rejected suggestions he had criticised the Welsh language or described spending on it as a “waste of time”.
He said his three children had gone to Welsh-medium schools, and he had done a year-long course to learn Welsh himself.
His criticism that night, he said, was aimed at Welsh Government spending decisions, including the Revenue Support Grant and Additional Learning Needs provision, not at the language.
Seven Sisters councillor says he had already decided to quit
Cllr Hunt said he was aware a coalition meeting had been held to discuss his conduct. But he said he had already decided to resign, for personal reasons he had discussed with the council’s chief executive.
He said the job was “extremely demanding”, he had been dealing with family matters, and he had used the event “as an opportunity to switch off from those pressures”.
He added: “That explains the circumstances; it does not excuse my behaviour.”
He will stay on as the Independent councillor for Crynant, Onllwyn and Seven Sisters.
Plaid Cymru’s Alun Llewelyn runs Neath Port Talbot until 14 October
Deputy leader Cllr Alun Llewelyn will carry out the leader’s functions until the post is filled, the council says. A new leader will be appointed at a full council meeting currently scheduled for 14 October.
Cllr Hunt became leader in 2022 at the head of a Rainbow Coalition of Independent, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors, the first administration not run by Labour since the council was created in 1996.
He was reappointed at every annual meeting since, most recently in May. In February he wrote to the Welsh Rugby Union warning that cutting the Ospreys would “disenfranchise a significant supporter base”.
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