'Leave abuse out of politics' - Walsall Council leader
Party leaders in Walsall have agreed to leave personal attacks out of debates in the council chamber as they entered into the new political year.
Conservative chief Mike Bird was confirmed as the new leader of Walsall Council at a meeting on Wednesday (May 22), following his party’s successful election campaign which saw them secure outright control of the authority.
But Councillor Bird said the campaign in the run-up to the ballot saw personal attacks and called for an end to such abuse.
His Labour counterpart Councillor Aftab Nawaz, who was selected of leader of his party earlier this month, said they would be a “responsible and robust’ opposition and won’t resort to personal abuse.
The meeting also saw members unanimously approve the make-up of all committees and the timetable of meetings for the 2019/20 municipal year.
Councillor Bird said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to Councillor Nawaz and thank the opposition for their co-operation on these matters.
“The election campaign is one of the worst I have seen for personal attacks on social media and I think we are above that.
“The damage that abuse on social media does is lasting damage. I have asked HR to write a new social media policy for all employees and councillors.
“We should look at running the council and working together for the benefit of the people in Walsall.”
Councillor Nawaz said: “We all need to work together and continue to hold the executive to account to help make policies better.
“We have a strong scrutiny system and there are important committees where there is no politics involved.
“People on both sides get carried away on social media and we need to take the responsibility of the positions we hold. We should ask ‘how would we feel if people said those things about us?’
“We will be a responsible and robust opposition but we will not get personal.”
