Over at ConservativeHome, there is a post entitled should councillors twitter?, which mentions the Cllr Tweeps website which keeps a list of all of the twittering councillors.

The post basically describes twittering as micro-blogging, the poster admits to being on twitter but using it mostly to follow what other people say, rather than taking much of an active role himself, and ends by asking the quite sensible question…

Have any councillors found Twittering productive so far?ConservativeHome: Local Government

As far as I can tell, the majority of the replies are from people who aren’t councillors, so not the sort of thing Harry was looking for specifically, but there are two key responses from people who are councillors, one of whom I feel gets it and the other… well.

Firstly, Paul Scully mentions his blog and his twittering, and points out that while this does not replace face to face communication, it offers him a way to communicate with commuters who he might not otherwise get the chance to see, and points out that with a small majority, every vote is crucial.

Now I suspect Paul and me are probably at different ends of the political spectrum on a number of issues, but on this one, I agree with him wholeheartedly. For me, one of the biggest problems facing our democracy is apathy. Voter turnouts are down because voters are increasingly sick of the ‘party machines’ (or at least ’tis my belief). For me, blogs and tweets allow voters to see the human side, to understand a bit more about the candidate they are voting for, rather than just his or her party.

And that has to be a good thing: that particular person is the one you are choosing to represent you, not the party they belong to. It also is a great way of getting a message over to younger voters who are unlikely ever to turn up to a constituency or ward meeting. It encourages engagement.

So, Paul Scully is my Politico WIN.

And with my Politico FAIL then — actually preceeding Paul’s comment — we have a message from Councillor Henry Lamprecht, of Enfield Council. Henry is again a conservative councillor, but with a somewhat different viewpoint

What on earth has Councillors got to twitter about? What they did at scrutiny panel last night? Cllr Henry Lamprecht

Well, yes, if it affects people in your ward. Why shouldn’t you tell them about it? Don’t you feel they have a right to know? Or do you feel that selecting and disseminating relevant information is somehow beneath you?

In the past these anoraks used to just bore the people around them but now they can bore absolutely anyone in the world. [...] It is like watching a mating ritual of Peacocks the way they display their dazzling qualities to each other. Cllr Henry Lamprecht

Ah, I see. Henry doesn’t like twitter. Or presumably facebook, or blogging, or anything like that, and therefore he is dismissive of anyone who does use it as being an ‘anorak’, and some sort of glorying smug idiot in need of a constant ego massage.. Still, it’s nice to know that Henry is happy to publicly dismiss all Twitter users as anoraks without worrying that it might make people not want to vote for him, isn’t it?

He appears to think that it isn’t his job to tell the residents of his ward what is going on, and all the people in his ward who are into technology are dismissed as anoraks. I’m glad he isn’t representing me, as I’d certainly feel I could do better.

He does however suggest that it is important to speak to people on doorstops etc — which it is, and I’ll concede that point — but seems to miss the point that many people will want to do business with their local council (or councillors) electronically. If I want to contact my councillors, I email ‘em. I don’t see the need for them to turn up at my house, or vice-versa. More and more people feel the same.

It’s about contacting and engaging with people the way they want to be engaged with.

Of course, the funniest bit is then Henry closes his remarks by saying…

Finally, just remember one thing… Every time you twitter, the person that wants your seat from another Party reads it too… Cllr Henry Lamprecht

Indeed. And every time you dismiss twitterers as anoraks publicly, someone can quote you on that and make the information available to others too, Henry. Perhaps you ought to have remembered your own advice…