MEMBERS of Newton’s Labour branch have been warned by the party over their social media conduct following an ugly row with a former chief whip.
The incident began last Friday when Earlestown councillor Pam Howard, of The Independents, replied to a Facebook post by the Newton Labour Party boasting about their achievements in Newton-le-Willows.
The bitter row spilled into the weekend, with Cllr Howard saying on Saturday that she would be seeking legal advice about a “fair few of the posts” on the thread, which has now been deleted.
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A spokesman for the Labour Party said members of the Newton branch have now been reminded of the party’s social media guidelines and code of conduct.
“These comments do not reflect or represent the Labour Party’s view,” the Labour Party spokesman said.
“The Newton Labour Facebook account is run by members of a local party branch.
“They have been reminded of the party’s social media guidelines and code of conduct.”
The Newton Labour account also appears to have been deactivated in the wake of the row.
St Helens Borough Council has also confirmed the incident has been brought to the attention of the council’s monitoring officer, who is “currently looking into it”.
The war of words started when Cllr Howard posted on her official councillor Facebook page, in response to an earlier post from Newton Labour Party, asking their followers to “name a single thing the Lib Dem or the Independent councillor have done?”
This sparked a heated debate between the two parties, with members of the public and councillors also chipping in.
During the exchange, Newton Labour accused Rainhill parish councillor Ann-Veronica Howitt of being “psychotic” and “stalker-like”, after she asked to meet up with a Labour supporter and the page’s admins.
The account mocked Cllr Howitt, saying she “must be lonely” and suggesting she contact Age Concern.
Throughout the thread, multiple commenters asked the Newton Labour Party who was posting on the account.
One reply said the page was run “simply by the Newton Labour Party branch”.
Last week’s Facebook drama is not the first time Cllr Howard and Labour have locked horns.
Cllr Howard was elected to represent Earlestown on St Helens Borough Council for Labour in May 2019 and was appointed as chief whip not long after.
But things quickly turned sour and Cllr Howard quit the party in October, saying she felt she had no choice but to walk away.
The following month, Cllr Howard joined The Independents, and rejected calls from Labour to trigger a by-election in Earlestown.
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Following last week’s bitter Facebook row, Cllr Howard has now called on her former party to “own up to their actions” and disclose who posted under the Newton Labour Party account.
“In my view, offensive comments were made by Newton Labour Branch, comments made in the name of Labour,” she said.
“They should now own up to their actions and disclose who has posted on social media in the party name.”
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