In recent days there has been extensive coverage of a public petition brought by a campaign group to Hertfordshire County Council.
This authority is distinct from Hertsmere Borough Council and had no role in the process until this point. We are represented on the Hertfordshire Pensions Committee to whom the petition has now been referred.
The petition called on the county council to divest staff pension funds and other assets from Israel and companies connected to it.
The county council have issued their own statement about the consideration of the petition on Tuesday 21st October. *
While Hertsmere is distinct from the county council, we recognise that these issues are of significant interest to many of our residents and employees who are members of the pension fund.
As such, our own councillors, and the public, should feel free to engage in the debate and campaign for the outcome they seek.
However, we believe it is equally important that elected officials, acting in civic roles, must be able to conduct their duties without fear of personal abuse and intimidation.
What happens elsewhere in Hertfordshire could happen here, which can only cause unnecessary enmity and division, and deter people from contributing to public life in our borough.
We urge those engaged in these discussions to act responsibly and for the greater good of our community. We also reiterate our complete support for the Local Government Association’s Debate Not Hate campaign which aims to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in their communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the responses and support for local politicians facing abuse and intimidation.
Cllr Jeremy Newmark, Leader Hertsmere Borough Council & Leader of the Labour & Cooperative Group
Cllr Chris Shenton, Deputy Leader, Hertsmere Borough Council & Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group
*Hertfordshire County Council statement