Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Blaming voters partisan and petty
Rosie Duffield’s comments about “trolling” she claims to be receiving (September 14) are disingenuous.
A quick review of Twitter shows not a single angry, confrontational or aggressive tweet going back months. If Twitter users have been insulting her, they must have spontaneously deleted them all.
There is certainly no visible evidence to support Ms Duffield’s claims she has received death threats or “vitriolic insults”.
Regarding Facebook, Ms Duffield has not participated in the Canterbury Residents Group (or any other groups that I’m aware of) since long before the election.
I suspect Ms Duffield is using so-called trolling as an excuse for refusing to discuss opposing points of view held by her constituents.
Julian Brazier was widely lambasted for giving social media a wide birth. Despite being perceived as a technical Luddite, his real reason for not campaigning on social media was to avoid having to confront people with significantly different views to him on subjects they cared passionately about.
Ms Duffield appears to be following in her predecessor’s footsteps. Ms Duffield claimed she would work for all her constituents, not just the ones who voted for her. Blaming Tory and Lib Dem voters for her refusal to engage with the electorate on social media is as partisan as it is petty. Alex Lister by email