I am proud to serve Watford as the local Member of Parliament. It is an honour that I take incredibly seriously.
I am keen to hear from and engage with as many constituents as possible. So far, I have worked on more than 19,000 individual cases. I also run regular surveys online or via post, hold surgery meetings with residents, visit businesses and charities, and respond to emails, letters, phone calls, casework, and policy queries.
I use social media to promote my work in Watford and celebrate key achievements for our town, and to share relevant information. As an MP, I have a political viewpoint that I know not everyone will agree with. I also know that others will have their own views and opinions that I may not agree with. I respect this. Even if I don’t agree with someone’s views, it is their right to hold them.
That said, it is incumbent upon all of us to discuss political issues with respect and moderation. No one should feel intimidated or threatened, online or offline. There are a number of ground rules that I have set for my social media channels to ensure that all interactions uphold the principles of mutual respect and common courtesy.
My social media channels are my own platform, owned and curated by myself and/or select members of staff. While I will occasionally respond to comments on social media, these platforms are not an appropriate place to raise casework issues or matters that require a detailed response. Comments are not a substitute for emails, and I won’t be able to action them. It is best to send your enquiry as an email to [email protected]
The ground rules that I have set for my social media channels are as follows:
- As I have mentioned above, the primary purpose of my social media accounts is to champion local issues and promote my work in Parliament on behalf of constituents. If you are identified as not living or working in the constituency, you may have your comments ignored, hidden, or removed.
- Abuse and threats of any kind will not be tolerated – even if you think that the words you used were mild or posted with tongue in cheek. Any comments that are felt not to be polite or respectful may be hidden or deleted without prior notice. The account that is posting them may also be blocked and reported to the social media companies and to the Police accordingly. I have a zero-tolerance policy, which means all threats and abuse will be reported straightaway to appropriate authorities.
- Whilst I welcome feedback, the comments sections of my social media channels are not to be used by opposition activists or organisations to post their own political views. As long as they follow the rules set by the social media company, they should be able to create their own page or account.
- Likewise, comments that are intended to deflect or divert attention from the content of the main post may be removed without prior notice.
- Spamming is not tolerated. This includes persistent posting of comments across multiple posts or platforms that say the same thing or an unrelated comment to the original post. These comments will be deleted and the account that is posting them may be blocked without any prior notice.
- Advertising of any kind is not permitted and any genuine recommendations of products or services that people make in the comments are the responsibility of the person making the recommendation.
Policy Adopted: 15/12/20. Policy Updated: 07/01/23.