Councillor hits back at 'lion's den' remarks over South Tyneside Council's members' room

A councillor has hit back at claims that the members’ room at South Tyneside Council is like a “lion’s den”.
South Shields Town HallSouth Shields Town Hall
South Shields Town Hall

Earlier this year, independent chair of the council’s Standards Committee, Professor Grahame Wright, met with new councillors elected in May.

The sessions aimed to gather feedback and provide an overview of the work of the committee and council’s complaints process.

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Although all recorded comments from the meetings were anonymous, one statement referenced the communal room used by councillors at the town hall.

It said that some new members felt it was like “entering the lion’s den.”

“I was pretty annoyed when I read the comments, if I’m a lion, I’m a pretty old one and way past hunting,” Coun Doreen Purvis said.

“I have never seen any unpleasantness whatsoever in the members room, there may be a perception.

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“I think it’s important to address this as I don’t know anybody who would be seen to be overtly nasty to anybody walking into the members’ room.”

Coun Purvis was speaking at the council’s Standards Committee on Monday December 2, where the report was discussed.

She told the meeting many councillors had been on the receiving end of “social media abuse” and described the members’ room claims as “a bit disingenuous.”

The comments were made in a wider debate about how council officers can support new councillors entering the town hall.

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A report, prepared for the committee, listed ideas gathered from the meetings with new members.

This included extra training around community area forums and the council’s constitution, guidance on the procedure for speaking at meetings and the production of a user-friendly induction pack.

Other suggestions included guidance on the formation of political groups, tabling formal motions to full council and a list of phone numbers/contact details for council officers.

Coun Gladys Hobson said a ‘ buddy system’ would be helpful for new councillors, allowing them to shadow more experienced members – but admitted there were difficulties when wards had a mix of political groups.

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But Coun Anne Hetherington added new councillors have a “certain amount of personal responsibility” to read up on the council’s rules and procedures.

Council officers also agreed there was a need for IT upgrades so councillors can access files and records when away from council buildings.

In his report, Professor Wright concluded there was recognition between all new councillors of the “need to carry out debate and argue conflicting views in an appropriate manner” under the Nolan Principles – a list of standards for behaviour in public life.

The report added: “The problem is that most councillors saw the source of the ‘problem’ as being councillors on ‘the other side’.

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“However, since the political process necessarily involves ‘point scoring’ against the ‘other side’, this kind of behaviour is perhaps inevitable.

“Nevertheless, the Standards Committee is encouraged to promote the Code of Conduct amongst council members and encourage constructive debate and argument between those who hold conflicting views which facilitates an atmosphere more conducive to the enhancement of the interests of the people of South Tyneside.”

The recent local elections saw seven new faces – and five opposition councillors – enter the town hall.

This included two Labour members, four independents and the authority’s first Green Party councillor.

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