Скандал в совете Болтона: заседание о культуре уважения переросло в крики и детский скандал

Bolton council tried to hold a meeting about 'respect', it did not go well 'The people of Bolton will be appalled' There were heated scenes at Bolton town hall as a debate about creating a more ‘respectful’ political atmosphere in the town descended into 'screaming in and playground behaviour'. Following the unsavoury meeting, one councillor said ‘the people of Bolton watching this will be appalled’ as voices were raised and the mayor, Mohammed Iqbal, called for order several times. Angry exchanges came during the debate about rising ‘hostility, abuse and intimidation towards elected members’, with a pledge made by all parties to support the Local Government Association’s ‘Debate Not Hate’ initiative. Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter Towards the end of the debate, as Jackie Schofield, a Labour councillor, was starting her speech, shouting could be heard between the Reform UK and Labour benches, prompted by an earlier reference to the Makerfield by-election. Coun Schofield said: “I feel like I’m in a school playground, you really need to grow up. You really need to think about why you’re here and why you were elected to this role. The people of Bolton watching this will be appalled. That’s everybody, across every party.” The motion was brought by Coun Debbie Newall. She said: “We are not responsible for the behaviour of others but we are responsible for our own actions. We should never normalise abuse or accept it as an occupational hazard. “Disinformation, misinformation and deepfakes blur people’s perception of what is actually real or the truth. We see this daily on TV and social media. “This deters people from standing for office. We must step up and police our own behaviour and endorse this campaign. This is not partisan, we should sign a public statement and present a united front in the face of online abuse to any elected member.” During the debate, several councillors recounted recent events of alleged abuse and threats of violence. Conservative member Les Webb told councillors of an alleged incident during the May elections campaign, in which he says he was accosted by a man who reportedly made serious threats of harm. Coun Webb said: “The message from this is what we say in here matters, what they say in Westminster matters, what we put on our leaflets matters and what we put on social media matters. If we can’t manage ourselves and behave properly how do we stop this?” Reform councillor Derek Bullock said he had suffered from abuse during recent election campaign. “Who among us could fail to support this motion,” he said. “Of course we all condemn politically fuelled abusive behaviour against councillors and candidates. “And yet over the last three years here in Bolton there have been repeated attacks against myself on social media by some elected members and in parts of the press using an obnoxious, fabricated Facebook post that has had a damaging effect on my reputation, which included death threats. “The same standard should apply to every councillor, every candidate and every political party without fear or favour. “Only then can this motion have real meaning.” Farnworth and Kearsley First member Coun Maureen Flitcroft said: “I’ve seen some absolutely appalling behaviour directed at members. “I’ve even challenged a member and called them a bully and they tried to pass it off as political banter and was told ‘I didn’t understand politics’. “They believe that behaviour which would be unacceptable in a playground is acceptable in these surroundings.” The motion called on the council to endorse the ‘Debate Not Hate’ campaign and call on all political groups to sign the public statement. It also said councillors should continually promote diversity and inclusion, both ahead of the next elections and beyond, and to publicly condemn politically fuelled abusive behaviour. It was supported by all councillors present.