POLITICIANS have been allowed to post on Twitter whilst council meetings are unfolding in Worcester – despite one councillor branding its use “extremely rude, discourteous and disrespectful.”
The ruling was approved during a full council meeting at the Guildhall despite Labour, Conservative and Green Party members all speaking out against it.
Councillor Alan Amos, from the Labour Party, said: “I know the use of social media is commonplace now and I won’t stand in the way of it.
“But it’s a sad commentary on life when people cannot spend two hours without posting messages – most of them are of inane content anyway.
“It’s a criminal offence for people to use a mobile phone whilst driving, similarly using Twitter during a meeting should not be allowed.
“Call me old fashioned, but there are many of us who believe using these wretched devices during a meeting is extremely rude, discourteous and disrespectful.” His outburst then carried onto other councillors, with Green Party councillor Neil Laurenson saying: “People are not hanging onto our every word on Twitter, and I’ll wait until after this meeting is over until I update my followers.
“If you can’t concentrate for a couple of hours, what are you doing here?”
Conservative Councillor Gareth Jones said he agreed, telling the room “all technology should be banned” from the chamber.
A year ago, Councillor Jabba Riaz, a prolific user of Twitter, first called for guidance to be put into place on the issue.
During the meeting, Labour Councillor Joy Squires said he “could not possibly” be paying attention by sending up to a dozen tweets within the first 40 minutes of a meeting, but he chose not to respond.
Councillor Simon Geraghty, the leader, said: “This was always going to split opinion which is why we set up a working group to look at it carefully.
“I firmly believe it’s the right thing to do.”
The rest of the politicians backed his call, with some calling for the authority to consider broadcasting meetings on the internet as the next step.
Under the ruling Twitter can be used in the majority of council meetings, but will be banned from “regulatory” committees such as licensing and planning.
The guidance also asks politicians to “show respect” for fellow councillors and staff by thinking carefully about each message.
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