No need to get needled by my knitting on Zoom, councillor insists
A LABOUR councillor has refused to apologise for knitting at a Zoom meeting and claimed it “helps her focus”.
Rachel Garrick was spotted glancing down at her knitting after being questioned about service cuts. Monmouthshire
council’s cabinet member for resources was defending £11 million of cuts in the South Wales county at a committee hearing.
Conservatives accused her of “making a mockery of local democracy”.
Cllr Garrick said: “Knitting increases my focus, the same way fidget toys do for others. It also helps me cope with pain from sitting with arthritis in my cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine and sacroiliac joints.”
She added: “Those of us who have unseen disabilities are a part of society.
“I think it’s a really easy thing to fall into and not understand diversity and how others think or use tools to manage life or pain.”
Sam Rowlands, shadow local government minister in the Welsh Conservatives, said: “This behaviour is quite insulting and makes a mockery of local democracy.”
Mr Rowlands went on to echo calls ‘This behaviour is quite insulting’ by others in his party to bring back inperson council hearings. He said: “The incident also clearly supports the hesitations I have already spoken about regarding an over-reliance on hybrid meetings, with councillors using it to evade their responsibilities, while missing out on building new relationships.”