THE DARKER side of social media is a growing problem for politicians and the “ultimate problem” for Swansea Council would be if it led to resignations, a meeting heard.
Several councillors recounted unsavoury experiences during a discussion about a new guide on how to handle online harassment, abuse and intimidation.
The draft guide said social media had become a powerful tool for councillors but that it came with downsides – record levels of online abuse and bullying of politicians, particularly women, causing anxiety, fear and illness.
“You become less effective – you’re almost scared of dealing with the work you’re trying to do,” said Huw Evans, author of the draft guide and the council’s head of democratic services. “The ultimate problem for us would be a councillor resigning because of this abuse they’re facing.”
Speaking at a democratic services committee meeting Mr Evans said the council did not employ the 75 councillors who represent the electorate but did have a duty of care towards them.
Cllr Wendy Lewis said she had been the target of online abuse, which she had reported to police, although she said things were better now. “Hopefully it will never happen again,” she said.
Cllr Adam Davis said in his experience online abuse came from informed people with a specific grievance, uninformed people with a grievance, and “malicious and anonymous” campaigns. He said: “In the last 12 to 18 months I have seen a massive uptick in harassment from accounts which are not real people.”
Cllr Davis added that in the last seven days he had reported “a very real and credible death threat” made against an MP.
Clr Peter May said he had a good relationship with the public on social media. He added: “You get the odd one there. I won’t say it’s particularly targeted – perhaps someone has had a glass of vino on a Saturday night, and suddenly they get a bit of bravado on the keyboard.”
Cllr Francesca O’Brien wondered if something could be added to the guide about members of the public becoming “too familiar” in real life with councillors, although she didn’t think it was meant as intimidation. She said she was quite thick-skinned but spoke about an incident which had bothered her and her children and had “crossed that line”. She said: “It’s not an easy subject to talk about.”
Cllr Brigitte Rowlands asked about interactions between councillors. “We may not be politically on the same page, but we should not be aggressive to one another, especially when elections are coming up,” she said.
The draft guide is derived from one launched by the Local Government Association (LGA) and its sister organisation in Wales, which represent councils. The LGA’s guide said abuse and intimidation could be triggered by particular events, like decisions made by councils, elections, or a misunderstanding of the role of councils and councillors.
The guide said: “Some councillors report having an extremely high tolerance to abuse due to past experiences and length of service.
However, there is no expectation that councillors should have to accept or tolerate abusive behaviour and not dealing with these issues can increase risk to councillors’ safety at a later date.”
Swansea’s democratic services committee went on to discuss a document about personal safety for councillors. It has advice on things such as holding surgeries where constituents can come along and raise issues.
On the subject of safety, Cllr May said one of his Uplands Party colleagues, Cllr Stuart Rice, had his car windscreen repeatedly hit with a mallet recently.
Cllr May also recalled someone setting fire to his car in 2009. “I had a two, nine and 12-year-old at the time,” he said. “At the end of the day we are human beings.”
