THIS is the moment the Lord Mayor of Bristol breaks his gavel after during a fuming rant towards a councillor.
Paul Goggin appeared to lose his temper as he bellowed at Green Party councillor Christine Townsend during a town hall meeting on Tuesday.
Slamming his gavel several times as he demanded Cllr Townsend return to her seat, Goggin seemed to underestimate his own strength, breaking the head off the gavel in anger.
Video shows Goggin chairing the meeting, which was covering the council’s “secretive” application for the Department for Education’s (DfE) Safety Valve programme.
He glares off-screen at Cllr Townsend, who is delivering a speech, as she appears to conclude: “[…] so that she can better understand it.”
However, Cllr Townsend begins to speak again, prompting Goggin to grab his wooden gavel and slam it down four times in quick succession whilst demanding: “Stop please, councillor.”
Upon the fourth hit, the head of the gavel snaps off as Goggin further glares at the councillor, who continues with her speech, undeterred.
At this point, Goggin throws his arms up in annoyance, as another member of the council appears to shout: “You’ve been told to stop.”
With this, Goggin pushes his chair away and stands up, folding his hands and looking extremely frustrated as he peers over the rim of his glasses at Cllr Townsend.
He then demands: “Can you stop please, councillor.”
Cllr Townsend then replies, “I have yes, I am, thank you” which is promptly met with a round of applause as Goggin returns to his seat.
Video of the argument was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “This behaviour by a councillor and Lord Mayor is unacceptable.
“What is he like at public events? Is he able to control his temper with women or anyone better than here?”
The clip has since received dozens of likes and comments from users left stunned by the Lord Mayor’s angry outburst.
One user said: “Thank f**k he’s only armed with a tiny wooden hammer.”
Another added: “The blonde woman who was there before in that job was rude as well. Must be part of what they’re supposed to act like when they do it.”
A third commented: “Oh, no, he broke his gavel [the] jumped-up t**t.”
Another wrote: “Apparently there’s a rule that states that if the Lord Mayor stands up, others have to sit down. Which Christine did. His complaints after are ridiculous.”
