Agenda

Queen Edith’s ward

This council notes the intimidation and abuse of councillors, in person or otherwise, undermines democracy; preventing elected members from representing the communities they serve, deterring individuals from standing for election, and undermining public life in democratic processes.

This council further notes that increasing levels of toxicity in public and political discourse is having a detrimental impact on local democracy and that prevention, support and responses to abuse and intimidation of local politicians must improve to ensure councillors feel safe and able to continue representing their residents.

This council therefore commits to challenge the normalisation of abuse against councillors and uphold exemplary standards of public and political debate in all it does.

The council further agrees to sign up to the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Debate Not Hate campaign. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in local communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the response to and support for local politicians facing abuse and intimidation.

In addition, the council resolves to:

·      Write to our local Members of Parliament to ask them to support the campaign

·      Write to the Government to ask them to work with the LGA to develop and implement a plan to address abuse and intimidation of politicians

·      Regularly review the support available to councillors in relation to abuse and intimidation and councillor safety

·      Work with the local police to ensure there is a clear and joined-up mechanism for reporting threats and other concerns about the safety of councillors and their families

·      Take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of councillors and officers.

·      Express our support for the Jo Cox Foundation[1]’s Civility in Public Life Campaign, which we commit to adhering to in all of our political discourse[2].

Notes:

·      Except for the last bullet point, this motion follows the wording, with only very minor edits for local context, of the Local Government Association’s Debate not Hate motion which has been passed at councils  across the country. More details of the LGA debate not hate campaign can be found here: https://www.local.gov.uk/about/campaigns/debate-not-hate.

·      The Jo Cox Foundation is a registered charity set up in memory of murdered MP, Jo Cox, who studied at Cambridge University. It works to promote stronger communities, respectful politics, and a fairer world. (https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/about/ )

·      The 2023 Civility Pledge, which is the core of the Civility in Public Life campaign is as follows:

o   Set a respectful tone when campaigning

o   Lead by example to foster constructive democratic debate

o   Demonstrate compassion by defending and promoting the dignity of others, especially my opponents.

·      More details about the Jo Cox Foundation’s campaign to promote civility in public life can be found here: https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/our-work/respectful-politics/