AN INDEPENDENT councillor is seeking legal advice following an ugly Facebook row with the Newton Labour Party.
St Helens Labour’s former chief whip Pam Howard, now member of The Independents, got in a heated debate with Newton Labour on Friday.
Cllr Howard was elected to represent Earlestown on St Helens Borough Council for Labour in May 2019, but quit the party just five months later following a short spell as chief whip.
READ > Huge rise in reports of anti-social behaviour during coronavirus lockdown
She then faced repeated calls to contest a by-election from the Newton-le-Willows Labour branch, and there has been bad blood ever since.
On Friday, Cllr Howard wrote a Facebook post on her councillor page, in response to an earlier post by Newton Labour Party, which had asked their followers to “name a single thing the Lib Dem or the Independent councillor have done?”
A bitter row then ensued, rumbling on throughout the day and spilling over into the weekend.
On Saturday morning, Cllr Howard said she would be seeking independent legal advice on Monday about a “fair few of the posts” on the thread.
Cllr Howard confirmed this to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) today and said she would not be commenting at this time.
One comment in the thread even saw Newton Labour accuse one of the commenters of being “psychotic”.
Cllr Ann-Veronica Howitt, an Independent councillor on Rainhill Parish Council, had offered to meet up with a resident who was questioning what Cllr Howard had done for Earlestown residents, like him, who voted for her in 2019.
Cllr Howitt said she would welcome an opportunity to meet, when restrictions allow, and also invited the admins of the Labour page, “for a chat”.
After declining her offer, Newton Labour told Cllr Howitt to “get over it” and “move on”.
In a separate comment, Newton Labour said: “The only real conclusion Ann is that your behaviour comes across as slightly psychotic and stalker like.
“You must be constantly monitoring two people you’ve never met.
“We understand you might be very lonely Ann. And so it’s only natural to want to meet up. There are a number of charities that can help.
“Age Concern do some fantastic work.”
Terry Maguire, the man behind the Business for Youth charity that has been supporting families in Newton-le-Willows throughout the pandemic, voiced his disapproval at Labour’s conduct.
Mr Maguire said: “It is saddening to hear the manner of this ruling party in our town. Do you think a little more decorum is required?
“Maybe it’s time for the people of our town to wake up and see the attitude that this group purveys.
“Personally I could never vote for a group that speaks with such disrespect to others.”
Throughout the thread, Newton Labour was asked multiple times who was posting on the account.
Newton Labour responded by saying the account is run by the Newton Labour Party branch.
One of the commenters, Stuart Baggs, from Rainhill, accused Labour of using “keyboard warrior style” tactics on social media.
Mr Baggs said: “The most interesting thing about this post is the use of the Newton Labour Party Facebook page.
“It gives a certain amount of anonymity and keyboard warrior style use of social media.
READ > People born in Rainford expected to live 10 years longer than St Helens' poorest areas
“It is the same with the Prescot branch with their endless and tedious attacks on Kai Taylor (I think his name is).
“It’s embarrassing. Why hide behind an anonymised account? Why act like a Tory? You have your point of view, stand up for it. Stop hiding.”
Newton Labour Party said it will not be making any further comment at this stage.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article