Agenda item

Proposed by Councillor Ed Stubbs

Seconded by Councillor Keith Jones

This Council recognises

That Councillors have a duty to promote kind and honest discourse both on and off line.

Recognises that discussion, debate and scrutiny are vital to a democracy but must be carried out without abuse.

That robust debate is a crucial part of the scrutiny process and should not be discouraged.

That social media is an increasingly aggressive space where abuse is common place.

That misinformation is often the trigger for such abusive behaviour.

That anonymous accounts with no trail of accountability are often the worst culprits.

That public figures are often the target for abusive behaviour and that it inevitably has a significant detrimental impact on their wellbeing.

Proposes to 

Introduce a code of principles for social media use, that has an emphasis on promoting accurate discourse and encourages councillors to not write or share posts that contain obvious inaccuracies or aggression against colleagues.

To ask Councillors to declare on their declaration of interest their involvement in any social media accounts.

Develop a Code of Practice for groups and organisation which the Council works with, which sets similar high expectations of respectful and honest engagements, and which asks them to conduct themselves in a transparent manner rather than operating anonymous accounts