Complaints spike with social media key cause

Complaints about alleged code of conduct breaches by members of Devon’s biggest council have spiked, with social media being a major cause.

A total of 28 complaints have been lodged about councillors on Devon County Council since November last year – well above the three that were made in the same period the prior year.
In 15 of those cases, social media usage has been the key contributing factor, with allegations of “inappropriate social media posts”, “alleged social media support for unlawful flag displays” and “use of social media content perceived to be insensitive or offensive”.
Complaints tend to be made by members of the public, or councillors on other councils, such as parishes or districts.
But in this case, it said “a few complaints” were made from county councillors.
Besides social media issues, disclosing information about asylum seekers to protesters was the cause of one complaint, while another was related to misinformation to residents and a breach of the members’ code.
Inappropriate language was also an issue, while one complaint referenced ‘inappropriate action in a public place’.
However, in that instance, the complaint was not progressed because of an apology that had already been issued by the subject of the complaint.
Those being complained about are not identified, and so there is no breakdown in terms of political party.
However, the political make-up of the council changed dramatically in May last year, with the Conservative majority wiped out, Reform UK becoming the biggest opposition party, and the Liberal Democrats becoming the largest party, and now in control thanks to a coalition with the Green Party and some of its independent members.
That shift could be a contributing factor behind the number of complaints rising so much between the two comparative periods.
A total of eight of the complaints have been determined, and in three of those there was considered to be a breach of the code of conduct.
The rest of the complaints have yet to be determined.
The complaints data will be discussed next week at Devon County Council’s standards committee (Thursday 19 March).