Hertsmere Labour Party Hertsmere Constituency Labour Party & Hertsmere Borough Council Labour & Co-operative Group
Hertsmere Borough Council has joined Hertsmere Labour in a 48 hour boycott of social media following the antisemitic comments posted by rapper Wiley, after Twitter and Instagram failed to act.
In a letter to Council Leader, Cllr Morris Bright, Labour Group Leader, Jeremy Newmark said: ” In response to the failure of Twitter to act against this hate speech and antisemitism, prominent figures have backed a grass roots campaign called ‘Silence Talks’. Thousands of politicians, celebrities and others have pledged to leave Twitter for a 48 hour walkout period starting at 9am Monday morning.”
As a Borough that is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK, many local residents will be deeply concerned by this so Hertsmere Labour was pleased when the Council’s spokesperson said: “The council whole-heartedly supports the 48-hour boycott and will be taking part ourselves, unless a significant issue affecting our services, our borough or public health arises during that time period.”
Continued Hertsmere Labour’s Communications Advisor, Nik Oakley: “There is a thin line between freedom of speech and hate speech and Wiley has crossed that line time and time again in recent days. Not only are the Constituency and our branches boycotting Twitter, but also Facebook as the owners of Instagram. Our seven social media outlets will remain silent until 9am Wednesday.”
Many people have expressed their shock at Wiley’s comments and cannot understand why his social media accounts have not been suspended in the same way that those of Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson were.
