Guernsey Party protects Twitter feed after ‘vitriol’

The move comes as the political party, which was formed ahead of last year’s election, changes its social media policy.

In a statement on its website, it said it will focus more on using that and Facebook.

‘Unfortunately, it has become apparent that there are a small number of members of the Twitter community whose sole objective appears to be to collectively attack every single tweet of ours with vitriol,’ the party wrote.

‘Some of these are bitter ex-deputies who lost their seats at the 2020 election and who will never be remotely supportive of The Guernsey Party, as a centre-right party.’

The Twitter page currently has 444 followers. Six party members won seats in last year’s election, including Policy & Resources member Deputy Mark Helyar, who came fourth in the poll with more than 11,000 votes.

The statement went on to say that the party would never win the votes of those with forceful left-wing views.

‘We genuinely wish them well, but the party was not formed with them in mind,’ the statement said.

‘However, we do not have either the time or inclination to spend hours on Twitter trying to counter their views, which clash so much with the policies that we openly stand for, when it is so evident that healthy, respectful debate will not happen.

‘So we are going to simply avoid the pointless noise and unwelcome distraction and instead focus on matters which will be far more productive in trying to serve the electorate and improve the island for the rest of this term and beyond.’

The statement said the protected status of its Twitter page had already been introduced and it was now open to approved individuals only.

‘The purpose of the Twitter account is simply to keep our many supporters and the local mainstream media updated regarding our announcements and activities,’ it said.

‘Any parties who are unable to access our Twitter account can still view our Facebook account and website. Unfortunately, this does mean that if you are an anonymous follower of our Twitter account we may unintentionally block you. This is purely because we don’t know who you are.’

n A row blew up on the party’s Twitter feed over the promotion of female election candidates, with at least two former States members who lost their seats last October joining in the criticism.