Councillors at East Riding Council have backed a motion calling for the council to develop a formal policy to help deal with threats and abuse towards councillors.
At July’s full council meeting, the leader of East Riding Council, Cllr Anne Handley (Conservative – Goole North ward) presented a motion which recognised the “increased abuse of, and threat faced by elected officials.”
It called for the council to develop a formal policy to deal with such threats in a “robust manner.” Cllr Handley explained that the council has “some fantastic policies” to help protect council staff but “there’s no policy at all to look after us as councillors.”
She went on to say that some councillors are “constantly harassed by the public” and they have “no where to go.” The motion was seconded by Cllr Barbara Jefferson (Independent – North Holderness ward) who described it as a “most essential motion.”
Cllr Jefferson added: “I have had my own experiences where I have felt very vulnerable and targeted. It is hard to believe that over the many years as a councillor, having enjoyed serving all my communities, that I have now discovered that this East Riding Council has a policy for the safety and support of staff but not councillors.”
Cllr Zahra Saribal (Conservative – Willerby and Kirk Ella ward) spoke of her concerns. These were in regards to information being made available to the public, warning that “people who have nasty thoughts can easily find our home addresses.”
The motion received cross party support, including from Cllr Denis Healy (Liberal Democrat – St Mary’s ward). He said: “We put our heads above the parapet and people just feel its ok, you’re fair game because you’ve been elected.
“I’ve even had an email today, from a member of the public, telling me to vote against this motion. That is the kind of thing that we are having to put up with. We respect each other, yes sometimes we have debates, but underneath it all we respect each other and we will stand up for each other.”
Ex-Reform UK councillor Maria Bowtell (Independent – Bridlington Central and Old Town ward), who recently took to social media to accuse MPs of being ‘pro-murder’, also spoke on the issue. She said that she has received “quite a lot of abuse online.”
As Cllr Handley’s motion was passed by councillors, work will now begin to form a policy which looks to address the issues of threats and harassment. Cllr Handley thanked her fellow councillors for supporting the motion and said the hopes the various parties in the council will “work together to help to work up a policy we can all agree to going forward.
