The utility of public restrooms is sometimes unclear until you gotta go. Such is the saga of one Scottish politician who, in his role as deputy leader of South Lanarkshire council, helped shut down all 24 of the toilets in his area, only to be fined this weekend for public urination. Police caught Jackie Burns, who had been waiting at a taxi stand but just couldn’t hold it anymore, peeing down a lane. Burns says he “duly paid” a £40 fine (about $60) and that he’s “embarrassed by the incident” and apologized.
As you’d expect, many people felt this was a crappy situation for a local leader to find himself in, but did see a bit of justice in Burns’s plight. “I’m sure the community council will have a lot to say on the irony of this as Jackie has been fighting with them over the toilets,” said one councillor. “As he says we don’t need them - obviously there’s not enough.” Burns said back in spring that the council needed to scrap the toilets as part of a plan to flush £22 million (about $33.5 million) from the budget. “Perhaps that is a matter of some regret to Mr Burns now?” added one member of Scottish Parliament.
It’s unlikely that Burns will get canned for the incident, but his future in politics is probably down the, well, you know.
