Greens call for end to Holyrood's Twitter ban
For immediate release 18 October 2011
Following a vote last week at Westminster to allow responsible use of social media in the House of Commons, Green MSP Patrick Harvie is urging Holyrood's authorities to follow suit. His motion calls for an end to the ban on Members wishing to engage the public through social media during debates, as well as for the use of appropriate electronic resources to be allowed in the chamber, changes which would need to be brought forward by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
"Holyrood has always been ahead of Westminster on public engagement, from the innovative Petitions Committee to the decision to allow TV interviews in the building, a move which led the House of Commons to open up too. Now Westminster has set a lead on Twitter and social media while Holyrood looks stuck in the twentieth century. This change should also be self-policing - any MSP who tweets about the football while there's an important debate going on will quickly be found out.
"Public confidence in politics is still at a low ebb, and we should not be ruling out any constructive ways to engage people with the process. Twitter and Facebook can open up our discussions to the electorate, and we should have nothing to fear from that."
The motion in Patrick Harvie's name reads as follows.
S4M-01085 - Social Media in the Scottish Parliament
That the Parliament notes the decision of members of the House of Commons to permit the responsible use of mobile devices and social media in the debating chamber; considers that debates would not benefit if members used electronic devices in ways that did not relate to the subject under debate; notes, however, that members are already expected not to read in the chamber printed material that is unrelated to the debate and that a similar rule could apply to the use of electronic devices; considers that the use of social media during parliamentary debates can be a way of engaging the public in the political process and can enhance democratic participation, and would welcome consideration of a possible change to the Parliament's rules by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, the Presiding Officer and members themselves.