Kingston Council has adopted measures to tackle the abuse and intimidation faced by councillors and other local government staff in its first general meeting since the 2024 general election, called on 22 May.

Councillors voted unanimously on Wednesday 10 July to endorse the Local Government Association's (LGA) Debate Not Hate campaign, which aims to improve the wellbeing of councillors and officers by introducing a zero-tolerance approach to abuse both online and in-person.

Debate Not Hate has been created in response to a 2022 survey from the LGA, which found seven out of ten councillors have experienced abuse from the public. while one in ten said they experience abuse frequently.

As part of the campaign's endorsement, the council has resolved to implement new initiatives to keep its staff safe, including:

• Zero-tolerance approach to abuse, with "a strict policy that clearly outlines expectations for interactions and promotes respectful debate".
• Clarity of process and responsibility for council operations, so councillors can be better supported by other staff.
• Relationships with local police to "foster a mutual understanding of the abuse affecting councillors, and the role of police in addressing it".
• Tailored risk assessments which "proactively identify risks" to councillors.
• Prioritise councillor wellbeing to "address the negative impacts of personal attacks and hurtful commentaries". 

The proposal received cross-party support. "We're quite combative obviously in elections," said Conservative Cllr Rowena Bass, praising the campaign for fostering a sense of cooperation between the parties.

She explained the importance of a picture being taken of her and Liberal Democrat Cllr Andreas Kirsch, Leader of the Council, at a recent mayoral event.

"People were really heartened that you can actually have mutual respect between people of different political parties. I think that shows really good, responsible leadership, and that's what people want to see. They don't want to see petty politics," she said.

She added: "I think we've all experienced [negative comments on social media]. It's just vile, it's really horrible, and it keeps you up at night sometimes – not all the time, but it does [...] social media has become quite a necessity of political life, but it [has] a quite dark side as well".

Meanwhile, Cllr Yvonne Tracey from Kingston Independent Residents Group said: "We all do a difficult job. It is difficult, and I think if we can just treat each other with courtesy and how we'd like to be treated, it just makes our job a little easier. 

"So I think this is a really, really good motion, and I'll be supporting it 100 percent."

Liberal Democrat Cllr Noel Hadjimichael described the support for the campaign across the chamber as "incredibly pleasing". 

"It's why this motion is so important," he said, asking for his fellow councillor's help "to end the era of noisy performance and showmanship, and to tread more lightly, and seek unity rather than division".

More information about LGA's Debate Not Hate campaign can be found on their website here.