Monkey business afoot at Hackney council meetings
Monkeying around: the cuddly creature tweeted to the world by Cllr Jonathan McShane
Budgets, votes, waste and suchlike is the bread and butter of council meetings, so it seemed as if one local politician had gone positively bananas when he tweeted this picture of a monkey midway through the order of proceedings.
Monkey at the council AGM in full speaker outfit. yfrog.com/odqezufj
— jonathan mcshane (@jonathanmcshane) May 16, 2012
The “Monkey Tweeters” were among several councillors who defied the constitution during a council meeting on 16 May.
Cllr Jonathan McShane, a Haggerston ward Labour councillor and Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, and Culture, shared the cheeky snap of the cuddly toy with followers on Twitter during a council meeting in May, contravening the Town Hall’s own policy on use of electronic gizmos.
Hackney Council’s constitution categorically states that all mobile phones and other electronic devices must be switched off during council meetings to ensure maximum concentration on the weighty matters at hand.
Cllr McShane’s undeniably adorable stuffed primate was dressed as the Speaker of Hackney and was retweeted by Cllr Philip Glanville just a few minutes later.
Cllr Luke Akehurst, who works for lobbying group We Believe in Israel, took to Twitter to voice his joy at an Israeli flag being produced as the borough was twinned with the port town of Haifa.
Great to see Hackney’s link to Israel thru Haifa twinning celebrated w Israeli flag in council chamber. No negative boycotts here!
— Luke Akehurst (@lukeakehurst) May 16, 2012
Meanwhile, Cllr Carole Williams praised a colleague’s referencing of Dr Who.
Cllr Jess Webb doing a fine job in her opening speech referencing Dr Who “2012 is a date fixed in time and space”
— Carole Williams (@carolewilliams) May 16, 2012
At the following full council meeting last month (June), she gleefully tweeted: “Tonight’s full council meeting should be renamed the Cllr Philip Glanville Show.”
Tonight’s #lbhfullcouncil should be renamed the ‘Councillor @PhilipGlanville Show’
— Carole Williams (@carolewilliams) June 27, 2012
Despite a reminder from the Speaker that phones should be switched off, at least 17 councillors, including Deputy Mayor of Hackney Karen Alcock, were seen fiddling with theirs under their desks.
The smartphone addicts were believed to be checking emails, viewing pictures and updating their Facebook accounts.
One councillor passed his phone to others for them to read a text, and another was even observed using two phones.
The revelations come amid a call for more transparency at council meetings, which was boosted last year by a statement from communities secretary Eric Pickles, and a letter by Bob Neill MP saying Town Halls should allow journalists and local news bloggers to film meetings at will to breathe new life into local democracy.
But while Hackney’s local politicians tweet with impunity, journalists, including those from the Hackney Citizen, are strictly required by the council to request permission before recording or filming any meetings.
Hackney Council’s constitution also states that anyone wishing to photograph meetings should request permission beforehand, and the council reserves the right to decide on the “position” of the camera.
Cllr Sophie Linden, Cabinet Member for Crime, Sustainability and Customer Services, said: “By using social media councillors are opening up council meetings to more people.
“We are taking a common sense approach, as long as meetings aren’t disrupted councillors can continue to use social media. ”
Related: