A councillor has been accused of breaching their authority’s code of conduct after an investigation into their social media activity.
Two South Kesteven District Council hearing review panels will hear the results of external investigations into Grantham Councillor Steve Cunnington (Ind) today (Friday, January 17) following allegations by Councillors Graham Jeal (Con) and Penny Milnes (Ind).
These included ‘liking’ a Facebook comment calling Councillor Ben Green a ‘self-promoting prat’ in response to a post on the A1 clean-up budget and agreeing with a post that called him a ‘disgusting little turd’ and a ‘vile man.’ Coun Green complied with the investigation but did not launch the complaint himself.
Investigation reports into complaints about Councillor Steve Cunnington will go before a panel later this week. Photo: SKDC
The investigation found him in breach of the Code of Conduct for two complaints of ‘disrespect.’ These included calling Councillor Green a ‘vile disrespectful piece of garbage’ and a ‘vile disrespectful fool’ in response to a post about a former cabinet member’s resignation, and ‘vile disrespectful insensitive scum’ in another post.
The investigators acknowledged that the comments stemmed from Coun Green’s statement sharing a LincsOnline story about Coun Patsy Ellis’ resignation.
Coun Green had written: “Former portfolio holder for bins at SKDC, Cllr Patsy Ellis, has left the Cabinet and the Green Party. Did she jump before she was binned?”
Councillor Ben Green. Photo: SKDC
Coun Cunnington commented on Coun Green’s post, stating: “What a vile disrespectful piece of garbage you really are, Ben!! What do you know about Cllr Ellis and her person[al] life or me[n]tal health?? Have you given any consideration to this? …I think not!! Given your obvious low intellect!! And FYI …. if you don’t report my comment, I’ll be very disappointed!!! You vile disrespectful fool!!!”
He later commented ‘vile disrespectful insensitive scum’ on another councillor’s shared post.
While much of the comment was political, the offensive and belittling language was found to be problematic.
Councillor Steve Cunnington. Photo: SKDC
“We consider that Coun Cunnington could have expressed his dislike of Councillor Green’s Facebook post without using such offensive and belittling language, which reads as simply personally abusive,” said the report.
“It is clear that Coun Cunnington is commenting on a post relating to council business – Councillor Ellis’ departure from her cabinet role. Coun Cunnington, like others in his group, is upset by Coun Green’s clear mocking and sarcastic comment about the reasons for Coun Ellis leaving her role.
“We consider that the remainder of Coun Cunnington’s comment is acceptable political commentary; however, we find that the phrase “vile disrespectful piece of garbage” and “vile disrespectful fool” are simply gratuitous abuse.”
He was also found in breach of the code for failing to respond to requests from investigators and the monitoring officer.
No breaches were found for bullying or bringing the council into disrepute.
The investigation found that although some actions were mildly disrespectful, they were not severe enough to breach the code and were protected as political expression under the European Convention on Human Rights.
LincsOnline approached Coun Cunnington for a comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
In an early response to the monitoring officer, prior to the investigation, he suggested that his actions were justified and that the post in question spoke for itself.
He questioned whether Coun Green’s behaviour could be deemed “self-serving” and whether the post caused reputational damage to other councillors.
He also expressed his disagreement with the complaint, stating that it was based on the Code of Conduct, which he described as “ineffective”, citing a public insult by another councillor which he said went unpunished.
“The code and insults are clearly subjective. I reserve the right to “like” anything and everything on facebook,” he said.
A panel of councillors will consider the investigation and whether to impose any sanctions from 10am on Friday.