GBC Leader in Tweet War with Guildford Groups

Published on: 12 Jan, 2019
Updated on: 15 Jan, 2019

A tweet from Cllr Paul Spooner, leader of Guildford Borough Council, has challenged the political neutrality of the Guildford Society (GSoc) and the Guildford Vision Group (GVG) because of group emails sent to their members.

Responses have questioned whether GSoc and GVG, utilising their email address lists, have been compliant with data privacy regulations.

Cllr Spooner tweeted:

But Gillian Cameron, for GSoc Executive said it had sent out an email after a comment from Cllr Susan Parker, leader of the Guildford Greenbelt Group, which questioned the independence of GSoc and GVG. The email, Ms Cameron said, was to alert members to the debate on The Guildford Dragon.

Cllr Parker’s comment in a Dragon NEWS article, Guildford Society Emphasises Its Political Independence Following GGG Leader’s Comments

Others, including Lib Dem and Labour borough councillors, responded to Cllr Spooner’s tweet by asking if the use of GSoc and GVG membership lists was “GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] compliant”. James Walsh (Lab, Stoke) asked: “What’s the evidence and how have the lists been used?”

Cllr Spooner responded: “Substantiated thru evidence provided to the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.”

In response to the criticism, Gillan Cameron said: “The Guildford Society issued an e-mail to its members and subscribers explaining why we had to engage in the Guildford Dragon debate, last week, on political independence, after comments by Cllr Susan Parker.

Introduction to the email sent to all GSoc members

“This e-mail provided links to Surrey Live, The Guildford Dragon NEWS and the flyer for the meeting as it was referred to in the Guildford Dragon. This was to provide as full context, as possible, for our comments for our subscribers. The Guildford Society had no intention of endorsing or commenting on the forthcoming meeting, links were simply to supply context.

“As the local election approaches, Guildford Society may on occasion inform its membership of meetings, hustings and debates by newsletter, if we believe they may be of interest to our members e.g. debate on Planning etc.

“We have now had two instances, in as many weeks, of the local politicians questioning our independence.

“It is worth re-iterating that groups such as the Guildford Society are free to campaign, comment and question on matters of interest that relate to the organisation’s aims, this includes individuals, official bodies, businesses, other not for profit organisations and politicians.

“It is also worth reminding politicians of all persuasions that the Charities Commission lays out very carefully what charitable institutions can do. The GSoc Executive are mindful of these regulations and will be reviewing them at our next meeting to ensure we fully comply.”

John Rigg, GVG

John Rigg, chairman of the Guildford vision Group added: “We are a group of citizens concerned with the built environment. We have tried proactively over several years to have a sensible dialogue with the council on planning matters.

“We don’t claim to have a monopoly on wisdom, but we are the only group (including the council), to our knowledge, to have produced an integrated master plan for the town centre taking a holistic approach rather than a series of piecemeal developments. Look at what is happening in Walnut Tree Close, Guildford Station redevelopment etc. Such projects do not address many of the issues or opportunities.

“The GVG group and its supporters (we had over 7,000 hits on the video of our latest event) have grown increasingly frustrated by the attitude of councillors, not helped by the lack of an effective opposition.

“It is in this climate we feel it is appropriate to alert our e-mail subscribers to a potentially interesting political meeting, that might, post-May elections, provide the necessary injection of ideas, challenge and scrutiny that the council so sorely requires. We would, incidentally, also alert our supporters to council meetings, consultations and other relevant events.

“Recipients of the GVG mailings can easily unsubscribe; it is notable that none have as yet done so.

“As a group of local citizens and residents, we will continue to assert our rights to question, challenge and support matters related to the built environment in Guildford.”