This week, UK MP's have passed a motion allowing them to Tweet in The Commons during political debates and Prime Minsters Questioning. This came about as some politicians tried to push a ban on Tweeting and only being allowed phones so they can, "receive and send urgent messages" in the chamber but this was defeated by 206 votes to 63.
The Big Debate
Some MP's said that Tweeting, texting, and networking whilst taking part in a debate, meant that they were not paying attention to the arguments thus distracting politicians from their roles and duty as representatives. If they are too preoccupied with tweeting the gossip, then of course there the chance that they are not paying full attention and so missing crucial arguments. It also belittles traditional political behaviour and attitudes which the UK take pride in.
Others argued that Tweeting actually made them more representative and accountable as they were actually allowing their constituents and public a way to witness and be aware of the debate. It also gave people a way of keeping up to date with politics during the working day if they can not be near a tv or a radio to keep up with the news and interact by tweeting themselves. Being active in politics is always good and encouraged.
This may seem like a small change but for the UK Parliament, this is a sign it's moving into the 21st century. Prior to this change, MPs were only allowed to have mobile devices, no laptops but were banned from Tweeting by The Speaker (mediator in the Chamber of Commons) in January.
Potential Pitfalls
Allowing MPs to send and receive messages directly to and from the public could cause chaos. They may well be inundated with tweets asking them to ask questions, arguing, debating, and thus making what should be a political debate, a messy social media nightmare that the politician may not be able to keep up with. And if they can't keep up with their audience and answer their questions, then surely that's not being representative?
There are great arguments for both sides. Yes, it helps communicate, keep the public up to date and help then interact with politics which is fantastic, but it can limit ones attention, become messy and limit the quality of a debate. It would be great to hear your thoughts.
Who Wrote This Post?
I'm the Community Support Manager at MarketMeSuite, the social media marketing dashboard. And big news... we're now free! Please check it out and be sure to let me know what you think.
:)
Articles mentioned in this post: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15293928