Sadly, every person in public life is aware that public discourse is at an all-time low, which is not OK.

There’s no question that everyone should feel safe as they go about their work and in their home, with their family. 

In the thirty years I’ve been, firstly, reporting on and then participating in public life, I’ve seen a massive decline in standards of public commentary.

This isn’t just a local issue: we see it at a national and international level, and while it’s become part and parcel of public life, we must not condone it.

We should be able to expect a civil and courteous public debate – on social media and mainstream media, and even what people receive in their letterboxes.

I do think social media plays a significant role. The ability to be anonymous has emboldened people to say things they probably wouldn’t say if others knew who they were.  While individuals can do their best to remove offensive comments, I do think Facebook and other social media platforms have a responsibility to deactivate fake accounts.

If they can work out what kind of vacuum cleaner someone’s interested in, they can weed out the fakes. If it doesn’t have a photo, there are few friends and all they do is troll political pages with offensive comments, then you’ve got a good place to start.

We should all be lifting the standards, and certainly, I’ve always tried to set a good example to volunteers and supporters, with a focus on policy and performance, not personality.