All councillors in Bolton have been warned about their behaviour after a recent meeting saw the public gallery cleared and angry exchanges between members. The borough solicitor and monitoring officer said 'recent conduct' had led to the 'need to reiterate expectations regarding behaviour in the chamber'.
Chaotic scenes at full council meeting
Last week's full council meeting saw chaotic scenes with the public gallery cleared after disruption and a walk out by several councillors as a request to fly the Palestinian flag on the town's library was brought forward. The meeting was adjourned for around 25 minutes after proceedings were interrupted several times by shouting from the public gallery, which is on an enclosed balcony above the council chamber.
Security personnel then cleared the space after the Mayor, who was chairing the meeting, ordered the public's exclusion. Later there were angry scenes as Labour council leader Akhtar Zaman responded to a question about flying the Palestine flag from Green councillor Ismail Ibrahim. Green councillors and the majority of Reform UK members walked out of the meeting for around 20 minutes.
Email to all members
On Friday, October 9 borough solicitor and monitoring officer Ruth Whittingham contacted all members of Bolton council. The email, which has been seen by The Local Democracy Reporting Service, was titled 'expected standards of conduct in the council chamber'.
It said: "The council chamber is a place for robust debate, challenge, and scrutiny. However, all members are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the council's constitution, procedure rules, and code of conduct. Applauding, jeering, mocking, or otherwise encouraging members of the public when they are criticising, berating, or directing inappropriate comments towards members or officers is wholly inappropriate and falls short of the standards of professionalism, integrity and respect expected of elected representatives. Such behaviour undermines the dignity of the chamber and does not reflect the values set out within the code of conduct."
Warning on AI use
The email also reminded councillors of their 'personal responsibility for the accuracy of statements made in the chamber' and stated the danger of relying on AI. The email said: "Information relied upon in debate should be factually accurate and capable of verification. While artificial intelligence (AI) tools may assist with drafting or research, they can produce inaccurate, misleading, or entirely fabricated information. Members should not rely on AI-generated content as a source of fact and must satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of any information before presenting it in a meeting."
