Councillors are “publicly humiliated and ridiculed” with the standard of conduct at Liverpool Town Hall “at an all time low” according to a former Lord Mayor.
A motion had been laid down by Cllr Anna Rothery, leader of the Liverpool Community Independents group, calling for a debate during the full meeting of the city council on Wednesday on the impact of “bullying, intimidation and harassment” of elected members. Cllr Rothery, who served as Lord Mayor of the city from 2019 to 2021, said the “ridicule” of members not only impacted them personally, “but impacts on our ability to represent those who have elected us.”
Cllr Rothery, a former Labour member and candidate to be city mayor, is the second councillor to speak out in six months over treatment of elected members. In September, Cllr Kris Brown, Liberal Democrat member for Woolton and Gateacre, said abuse was coming in “thick and fast” and he could no longer stay silent after receiving a malicious email.
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In 2021, Labour councillor Clare McIntyre had to request police protection at a meeting where she was re-selected by the party after repeated threats from online trolls. Cllr Rothery’s motion, which was not selected for debate at Liverpool Town Hall later this week, said: “Too often when complaints are raised they are met with “it’s political,” it goes with the territory, both internally and by the police.
“At present the councillors’ code of conduct is not working, either because it is not being adhered to or because the complaint is never escalated. Councillors are people too with families who have to stand by silently whilst we are publicly humiliated and ridiculed, they also bear the brunt of our mistreatment.”
The opposition group leader, a councillor for 17 years, said the standard of conduct has fallen to an all time low and must be “swiftly reversed if we are to instil confidence in our electorate and elected members here in Liverpool.” The motion text added: “The council has a duty of care to elected members and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, which will only be achieved if we are protected internally and externally from ill treatment in line with employees.”
Cllr Rothery had also hoped to secure members’ backing for the council to make a “clear statement of zero tolerance on misogyny.” The motion will go before the Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, and the Mayoral and Performance Select Committee within the next cycle.
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