Brighton & Hove Councillor Calls For Better Behaviour At Meetings

A councillor has raised her concerns about lack of respect and “decline in behaviour” directed towards others during meetings.

Green councillor Sue Shanks set out her concerns in a letter to Brighton and Hove City Council’s interim chief executive Will Tuckley.

The letter has been included in the papers for the next meeting of the council’s Audit and Standards Committee next Tuesday (30 January).

Councillor Shanks, who was first elected in 2011, said:

“We have a long-standing agreement that we discuss matters of policy but refrain from making this acutely personal.

“This is an important principle, with respect and civil debate ingrained in our own councillor code of conduct and the Nolan Principles of Public Life.

“I have been dismayed then to observe a decline in behaviour that strays far from our code of conduct.

“At the last full council personal remarks about members were made and the chair did not attempt to stop this. For example, a member called another member a disgusting woman.

“The code of conduct states that members should be respectful. The council also has a rule about speaking through the chair – not personally abusing another member.

“If this behaviour continues without being stopped it has grave implications for our democracy. It will put people off becoming councillors.

“I am always prepared to engage in robust debate and ensure accountability of elected members but much of this behaviour is delivered in such a way that it is not debate, it is bullying and harassment.

“I recently complained about my own experience in a committee where I was told by another member that I (personally) was ‘appalling’.

“I was told this complaint did not make the threshold despite other people present (not councillors) and who watched it online relaying to me that the behaviour was awful and telling me so.

“I would like this known to the committee. People are watching and this can affect our reputation as a council.

“I’ve also witnessed shouting, finger pointing and barracking while members speak in council and other committees that I understand some members of the public find quite shocking.

“Given we have recently received a report into tackling the toxic bullying culture at one of our own departments – Cityclean – I do feel we can do better and set a positive example.”

Councillor Shanks called for a review into dealing with complaints about member behaviour and how committee chairs and the mayor – who chairs the full council – are empowered and supported to intervene.

Work to improve behaviour could be carried out in collaboration with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Jo Cox Foundation which was set up in memory of the murdered MP.

Councillor Shanks also referred to a move by Cornwall Council on Tuesday 16 January when members voted for greater protection against harassment, abuse and intimidation.

Cornwall made the move after a survey by the LGA that found local councillors in England and Wales felt at risk due to rising levels of abuse and intimidation.

The Audit and Standards Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 4pm on Tuesday 30 January. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.