Wrexham council leader hits out at “explosion of nastiness” on social media

The leader of Wrexham Council has spoken out about the online abuse he receives through social media.

Esclusham Cllr Mark Pritchard (Ind) who has led the authority for nearly nine years was speaking at a meeting of its Standards Committee which is looking to draw up a Mutual Respect Policy for councillors to sign up to.

Cllr Pritchard hit out at the “explosion of nastiness” on social media, the abuse aimed at him personally which was read by his family, and said he believes some councillors hide behind pseudonym’s in order to attack him.

The behaviour of Wrexham councillors has come under great scrutiny in the past year with a number of heated council meetings – most notably when trying to select a new Mayor – calling into question behaviour and a lack of decorum from members across the chamber and political divides.

In seeking feedback for the policy, the council’s legal officer Linda Roberts explained consultation is taking place with all councillors to gain their views.

Cllr Pritchard welcomed the drawing up of the policy but said at this stage he doesn’t feel it goes far enough to address online abuse.

“I think the social media within this isn’t strong enough”, he said.

“I don’t think there should be guidelines, I think they should be actions because people work around guidelines and do not adhere to them.

“There’s an explosion of nastiness on social media. That’s the way it is. You can look and see it yourself.

“The amount of comments I have and personal attacks is unbelievable. It’s not just for me, it’s other leaders of councils and other members but I would ask yourselves to look very hard at the social media side as that’s where the problem is.

“People have pseudonyms. Elected members shouldn’t have a pseudonym. If you want to say something on a social media page you should declare yourself and they should know who you are.

“Pseudonyms are wrong, you are just hiding an identity. I will be saying this as this comes through the process and goes to workshops, but I wanted you to hear it from me as an elected member and leader of the council.

“It’s offensive, it’s abusive, it’s nasty, it effects your family. My grandchildren have read some of the remarks on social media. It shouldn’t be there and I just hope everyone signs up to this (mutual respect policy) but that it’s strong, it’s firm. The problem is social media, it’s relentless.”

Chair of the meeting Mark Benson said he understood Cllr Pritchard’s concerns, while Stansty Cllr I David Bithell (Ind) said he agreed with the leaders’ comments about social media abuse, saying it has a serious impact on councillors and their families.

The Standards Committee agreed to consult with councillors on the policy.

By Rory Sheehan – BBC Local Democracy Reporter