Wednesday, October 27, 2021

New Lib Dem disciplinary code "viewed as a way to settle personal scores"

Embed from Getty Images

I didn't get time to plug the latest Liberator when it was posted, but you can download it free from the magazine's website.

If you then swipe to the Radical Bulletin section you will find this item:

CODE RED 

The party owes quite a debt to lead adjudicator Neil Christian who has had to deal with an unexpected flood of cases since the new disciplinary code took effect in July 2019.

His annual report states there were 967 cases - so around 1% of the total membership - and “it is worth noting that the number of complaints received is at a volume much higher than was ever foreseen when the system was being planned.”.

It also says 65% were dismissed, which suggests that the code is being viewed as a way to settle personal scores.

This is a depressing statistic, but not so unexpected in an era when councillors invest time in reporting opposing members for breaking the code of conduct and some people appear to join social media platforms so that can boast about how many people they have blocked.

2 comments:

Rob Parsons said...

The old code was being used that way, so maybe not much has changed.

Anonymous said...

The main reason I no longer have anything to do with the local Party is because of the way people with grudges used the (old) complaints system to settle scores and gain petty advantage over people who they ought to have thought of as being on the same side. I know we were all volunteers, but I was spending more time trying to build bridges, and patch up relationships, and dealing with visiting troubleshooters, than I did delivering leaflets. These people were so unpleasant to each other - why should I bother trying to get them elected?