Councillors of all political persuasions on Sunderland City Council yesterday [24 Jan] agreed to work together to hold those to account who engage in the abuse of councillors.
The agreement – which also saw councillors share their own experiences of harassment and abuse in front of full council – followed a motion tabled by Cllr Claire Rowntree, deputy leader of Sunderland Labour Group, calling for Sunderland City Council to support the ‘Debate Not Hate’ campaign.
Led by the Local Government Association, Debate Not Hate aims to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in their communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the responses and support for local politicians facing abuse and intimidation.
According to the LGA, seven in 10 councillors reported experiencing abuse or intimidation last year, with abuse and harassment also commonly being cited as one of the main deterrents for people getting involved in local politics.
Cllr Rowntree said: “I am delighted that councillors from across the floor unanimously backed this motion, which will see Sunderland City Council sign up to – and support – the Debate Not Hate campaign.
“I came into local politics to do the best I can for my community, by giving it a strong voice, its share of resources and helping to build a sustainable and prosperous future for people across the city.
“I care about my community and our city and I want it to thrive, but we need passionate voices, positive energy and people with skills, knowledge and empathy to achieve this. What we do not need is this insidious behaviour that turns good people away from political and civic life.
“By working with the LGA however, we can help enact real change by raising the profile of the agenda and the very real issues facing councillors – and lobbying the Government to ensure it is taken just as serious as MP safety.
“For us, this means a review and an overhaul of the Standards Regime, and I am delighted that councillors from across the city will now work in unison, speaking with one united voice, to continue to press for real change as we try to clean up politics and remove the toxicity that has worryingly become the norm in political life.”
Cllr Rowntree also spoke about the rising levels of misogyny experienced by women councillors and how, working together, they are hoping to make political life more inclusive for all.
She added: “The misogyny experienced by many councillors is also blatant and women councillors are disproportionately impacted by this behaviour too.
“It is pleasing however that progress is being made within our council and those who have experienced such abuse are now being listened to, taken seriously and more robust systems are being put in place. But we still have much work to do.
“This is why we can and will play a wider part locally, regionally and nationally in leading the agenda to improve members’ safety and our ability to undertake our roles to the best of our ability.
“This has already started with the chief executive of the Council initiating discussions with senior Police colleagues about more robust responses and actions in relation to reports of concerns, incidents and incident investigation, so hopefully there is plenty more to follow and we can all work together to clean up politics for good.”