Merton Council's Governance Standards and Audit Committee has reviewed a number of complaints against councillors, with the majority of these stemming from the use of social media.
During the period since September 2025, eight complaints were processed under the Members' Code of Conduct. Of these, four were not referred for formal investigation due to a lack of case to answer, and two were not formally investigated but resulted in training for the councillor involved. One complaint was not accepted as it fell outside the scope of the Code of Conduct.
One complaint remains under determination. The nature of the complaints primarily concerned councillors' use of social media, allegations of disrespectful behaviour, and the use of a councillor's position for personal advantage. Social media use has been the top number of complaints received for the last decade, according to Sharon Evans, Director of Governance and Civic Services. Allegations of disrespectful behaviour are the second most common theme across councils she has worked at.
Seven of these complaints were made by members of the public, and one was made by a Merton Councillor. No complaints progressed to a formal investigation or public hearing.
Sharon Evans, Director of Governance and Civic Services, noted that while social media complaints have been a consistent issue over the past decade, allegations of disrespectful behaviour are also a common theme across councils. She also highlighted that it was incredibly encouraging and really refreshing
that the majority of complaints originated from residents rather than other councillors, which has historically been the case in other authorities.
Regarding the two complaints that did not proceed to formal investigation, Ms. Evans stated that 'training was given to that counsellor and training was given by myself.' The specific content or nature of this training was not detailed.
Councillor Oldham inquired about the process for referring complaints that do not fully fall within the Code of Conduct to other parties for their internal procedures. Ms. Evans explained that while rare, this is possible if a councillor was not acting in their capacity as a councillor, and the behaviour was of a serious enough nature to warrant group awareness. She further elaborated that the first assessment is 'Is it within the code? Was the, and we, again, in our training, we've talked about this, was the counsellor acting in the capacity as a councillor when the behaviour or the alleged behaviour took place?' If a complaint did not fully fall within the code of conduct, or if a councillor was not acting in their capacity as a councillor, it could be referred to their group. In cases where behaviour was alleged to be of a serious enough nature, even if not acting in the role of a councillor, she could assess and advise upon it, potentially involving the councillor's group.
Councillor Mitchell asked for more detail on the nature of social media complaints, but Ms. Evans explained the need for confidentiality where no formal investigation had taken place, citing natural justice. She confirmed that more detail could be reported where formal investigations and findings occurred. Sharon Evans, Director of Governance and Civic Services, stated that allegations of disrespectful behaviour were among the nature of complaints received against councillors. However, she did not provide specific details about the nature of these allegations due to confidentiality, especially where no formal investigation had taken place.
Public reports pack Thursday 03-Sep-2026 19.15 Governance Standards and Audit Committee.pdf
