gabysslave's posterous

I think what I've found most surprising about his use of Twitter is the language he uses: 'you lot', 'the lefties', etc. He's obviously lumped a load of Birmingham residents who happen to use Twitter together in his head and decided nothing we have to say is of note or worth taking seriously. He's even given this group a name: 'The Smugeratti'.

This attitude from an elected representative is rather worrying, to say the least, and makes me thank God I don't live in Erdington. Rightly or wrongly, I'm left with the impression that if I were to consult him about a local issue he'd be unlikely to treat me much more seriously than he does on Twitter.

I'm actually attempting the odd exchange with @GarethFCompton on Twitter. I'm unsure why - maybe because I want to understand where he's coming from or just maybe I'm rubber-necking at someone fascinatingly awful! He doesn't seem terribly open to conversation, it must be said. Ah well.

Anyways, cheers for writing a great couple of posts about it. :-)

Nicky

Thanks for the feedback Nicky- I think if he views you as a peer even if you are from the left, he is more likely to treat you with some civility- For example Anthony Painter or Gisela Stuart, which is interesting to say the least.

Oh, good grief! Well, I emailed the City Council's Standards Committee about it this morning anyway.

What I found surprising is the correct use of grammar. The hilarious thing is, you really mean that. Correct comma usage! I think our Gareth must have gone to a grammar school.

Gabby - How do you manage to be so upset either by the lack of Cabinet 'diversity' or that someone found your tweet hilarious? That you have decided to take your gripes to the Conservative Party hierarchy is also hilarious. Would you like to report me too? If you are really so offended by this type of engagement I suggest that you have a long list of Labour politicians to report to whoever is running the Labour Party these days. If you need any ideas on that score, you might like to start with the defeated member for Stourbridge or the MP for Telford.

Nicky - what have the Standards Board got to do with an online disagreement? Gareth (just like any other politician) is accountable to the electorate at elections. How typical of people to complain about politicians failing to engage and then running to the authorities when they happen to disagree with you.

Dominic- Thank you for stopping by and giving me (Julia) your opinion. It is good to have someone not agreeing, as it gives balance. I wasn't so upset about just the lack of diversity as my other post describes with some context to why I tweeted my 1st tweet. And at no point do I criticise the Conservatives, In fact I have tried to be balanced. I do however think that it is a shame that someone like Gareth Compton, who obviously cares enough about this country to stand up and represent us, whatever his politics are, failed to engage and moreover failed to uphold the tenets and guidelines of his own council/party. I want like most constituents, to fell represented in the government, even if it is not the one I voted for. We have them for a long time, I want them to do well as I really am behind the country fore mostly, I just want there to be a better way for our politicians to behave too. Bear in mind that I live in Bromsgrove, where one of the worst transgressions of any MP in the expenses scandal, took place. Anyway, the reason for citing Cllr Compton, is that he stepped clearly and deliberately over the line into my world. If any Labour or other Party representative did the same, I promise that I would not hesitate to take swift and firm action. In fact it would probably be stronger. I hope to be able to discuss this further with him, and think that I have generally been quite balanced in my thoughts.
As for why the Standards Board- They have a responsibility to guard against any failing by a publicly elected representative who forgets the guidelines, which they have to sign up to when taking office. It is for them to decide whether this is a breach or not surely. You say that we are merely disagreeing with him, when clearly this is not the case. He did not give an opportunity to engage at any time, which was a real shame. He merely belittled and insulted, without intellectual debate or engagement. i happen to believe that some of his underlying views may indeed be correct re positive discrimination. However it goes to a deeper discussion about engagement with all sections of society, opportunity and representation. He also has to realise that he is not only accountable to his constituents at the elections, but always, as all the parties have said that we should be able to call them our politicians to account at any time.

The Gareth Compton on Twitter is the real councillor? If so, I am surprised that any elected representative should publicly display such an attitude to any of the electorate.

I think that describing twitter as 'your world' stretches credibility to say the least. Unless I have missed something his comments don't even appear on a webpage that you own or run. If you publish to the internet, people may react in ways you don't like.

You're making Gareth's comments sound like a criminal offence when it sounds to me like a basic freedom!

To the underlying argument that arose you say that 'some of his underlying views may indeed be correct re positive discrimination'. As far I understand, facts can be correct or incorrect, views can not. But that I suppose is the fundamental point of difference between conservative-minded people like Gareth and people who are rather less protective of liberty.

Slightly off tangent, but I think that the Standards Board is an obvious place to make a government saving. As an organisation it has in my judgment done more harm than good, but maybe that's a separate debate.

Dominic-I can't see where I refer to Twitter as my world- It is clearly a small part of what i do on the internet and in life, but that's not to say that it hasn't been completely fruitful, in business, real life connections and intellectual debate- never mind how much fun I've had here too. Even if I did- In the same vein as you telling me that i should not be taking anything too seriously- perhaps you need to as well. His comments appear in my timeline and as such he is addressing me directly with the intent to have me read them, this is the same as if he were saying it to me in person. His comments are a basic freedom. He has ethical standards as set out by the Conservative Party, the Birmingham City Council which he will have had to agree to, which I feel he has breached. Whether or not this is the case is for each of the bodies to decide- I will merely register my feelings with them and leave them to decide. And if you feel views can't be incorrect then my view that this is an insult and a breach of the office of a public representative is neither correct or incorrect? It is my view that he took a stance in my timeline and that it undermined his office and his potential to represent a constituency and that it would make no difference if he was speaking to me elsewhere. I am also not alone in being subject to his views- He has expressed them without reservation to his constituents via this format. He has been ill informed as to who I am and what I stand for and by attacking me and not engaging in a meaningful way, has missed an opportunity to convince me that his views are valid, or ones that I could be informed by. I would welcome his further engagement, but by being derisory he has precluded himself from said debate. When he mentioned that he was proud that there were 3 gay mp's in the cabinet, so he is allowed to have a view that this is diversity which he feels proud of, but I'm hilarious to have a view that a lack of gender, ethnic and cultural diversity is sad.
The Standards Board is another debate for elsewhere, but suffice it to say that MP's and publicly elected officials have been leeting the electorate down for years across party lines, and this needs to be addressed somewhere.

The Standards Board has been abolished! *grins*

Dominic- thank goodness I shared my concerns with the relevant council and conservative party bods then hey? *winks*

We haven't got to worry about this slime-ball for much longer after his recent gaffe. He's been thrown out of he Conservative party, hopefully he could be facing court after he was arrested under the Communications Act, have they charged him yet?

I've had a few run-ins with him. He has sent me some PMs that I didn't like. I reported him to the standards board at BCC, never had a reply though. Police now have his twitter account history so I'm sure they will find some interesting things.

Let's hope he resigns sooner rather than later.