Greenwich (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Greenwich Council faces backlash after councillors brand its social‑media posts, which include bleeped swear words, and call for a review of the online conduct.
The council has defended the posts, claiming that thousands of people have viewed them and that no one has raised any complaints.
The South London council declared on Monday, October 27, that it’ll be spending £5 million to address fly-tipping in the city. The finances will be employed to establish a public incitement program, emplace new CCTV cameras to catch violators, triple the size of the council’s fly- tipping enforcement brigades, and put harsher penalties.
The announcement was accompanied by posts across the council’s social media platforms. A video explaining the new scheme begins with council leader Anthony Okereke saying: “We’re not putting up with that bleep anymore”.
The council’s X and Facebook pages both currently have the header of a garbage worker throwing a bag of rubbish into a trash compactor, accompanied with the statement: “We’re not putting up with this s*** anymore.”
The posts have drawn criticism from the Independent and Green Group on Greenwich Council, which has written to the chief executive and council leader to request that they be removed.
Independent Cllr Lakshan Saldin said:
“The appropriateness of language is situational and dependent on company and context.
We do not consider the use of ‘We’re not putting up with this s***’ to be appropriate in a public communication from the council, and it is not an example we should be setting to our young people in our roles as community leaders. It is unprofessional, offensive, and reflects poorly on us as councillors.”
Greenwich people have interpreted the posts in “the light-hearted way” that was intended, according to Cllr. Okereke, who has defended them. He called attention to the fly-tipping issues in the borough, which he considered to be much more objectionable.
Cllr Okereke said:
“The campaign video has been seen over 16,000 times within the first 24 hours, and the general sentiment seems to be appreciated and has been taken in the light-hearted way it was intended.
We have not received any complaints from residents, and the video has been well engaged with, with the public sharing our frustration at fly-tipping criminals. The most offensive thing for most people is rubbish dumped on their street.
Anything we can do to draw attention and build a sense of unity against the small number of people who dump illegally is a positive. We all share the same goal – fly-tipping needs to stop and those doing it need to be held accountable and made an example of.”
How has Greenwich Council responded to the complaints?
Greenwich Council has responded to complaints about the use of bleeped swear words in its fly-tipping crusade videotape by emphasizing its commitment to robustly diving fly-tipping, which it describes as a serious issue affecting original communities.
The council aims to balance strong messaging on the fly-tipping problem with maintaining professionalism in communications.However, they can escalate complaints through the council’s complaint stages, including a review by elderly directors and eventually the Government Ombudsman if undetermined, If residents remain displeased with responses.
The incident has urged calls from opposition councillors for lesser form in sanctioned messaging, but the council maintains that strong language underscores the soberness of the issue and its commitment to enforcement.