Reform UK councillor claims nobody receives as much social media abuse as him

Twm Owen, Local democracy reporter

A Reform UK councillor and senior party official has claimed nobody receives as much social media abuse as he does.

Councillor David Thomas, who is the director for Nigel Farage’s party in Wales, said he was concerned at the impact of trolling and social media abuse on the family members of councillors.

He said: “I think nobody gets abuse, or his character assassinated, as much as me on social media.”

Cllr Thomas was speaking at a meeting of Torfaen Borough Council’s ethics and standards committee which was hearing from the leaders of the council’s political groups on their duty, under Welsh local government legislation, to “promote good conduct” within their groups.

Cllr Thomas, who leads the four strong Reform group on the Labour dominated council, also complained councillors, and former councillors, post “abuse” towards him and that comments are also posted by anonymous “fake” accounts.

He said: “I often watch other councillors, from other parties, make quite vulgar comments, previous councillors, about myself mostly and some of our other councillors.

“For me I’m quite used to it, you do develop a very, very thick skin, I really don’t care anymore, I’m used to it. Will some of my colleagues be able to put up with the amount of character assassination that goes on social media? Probably not.”

Cllr Thomas said group leaders “need to be watching our colleagues and what they do and maybe address that with them and not be so vulgar and childish on social media not so much because of the councillors facing it but family members see it.

“My son is 16 and reads those comments other councillors make, and those hidden fake profile. Some leaders really need to address what they’re saying.”

Earlier this year Cllr Thomas was accused of breaching the code of conduct when he, and his Reform colleague Jason O’Connell, who also represents Cwmbran’s Llantarnam ward, filmed a video in the council chamber in which they accused Labour cabinet member David Daniels of “lying”.

They objected to a Facebook comment by Cllr Daniels in which he criticised Reform, having said a motion he supported in the council wasn’t aimed at any particular party. The council said the complaints were resolved by “local resoultion” after it was agreed to take the video down.

Cllr Thomas had also told the committee his group discusses the code of conduct and tries to take advice from the council, and acknowledged his own attendance at meetings “hadn’t been the best” but said it is something the group tries to manage.

He said he’d been seen “as some sort of figurehead” for Reform before former London borough Conservative council leader Dan Thomas was appointed as its leader in Wales.

As a result Cllr Thomas said: “I get quite a lot of stick online, compared to the other parties, and sometimes we can find ourselves perhaps getting frustrated with that and maybe not conduct ourselves in the way we perhaps should.”

On attendance Cllr Thomas, who at the end of last year was removed from the volunteer Cwmbran Community Council for failing to attend meetings, said: “When you are a political leader and also a director in Wales for Reform UK time can be taken away from you quite swiftly and we do perhaps miss some meetings, not intentionally.”

The council’s Labour leader, Anthony Hunt, said “40 years ago it was rarer for members to have day jobs” and said he believed it is good that is no longer the case and said “you have to judge every member on their own merits not just by looking at statistics”.

The Panteg councillor said: “Some might not be able to attend a certain number of meetings but when they do they contribute fully to them.”

Cwmbran St Dials member Elizabeth Haynes, of the Independent Group, said “abuse” of its members tended to be “more personal” than that aimed at members of political parties.

She also said four of its five members work full time and said it should be remembered councillors, outside of the cabinet and some committee chairs, are in a part time role said she felt the focus on attendance was “very much on quality not quantity.”

She said: “It’s quite easy to attend and say nothing. I would rather see someone attend two out of four meeting and be active than attend four out four and not participate in any way.”