I wrote a story in Saturday’s Mercury that Leicester City Council is considering banning Twitter in the council chamber.

It was sparked by a complaint from Labour chief whip Barbara Potter.

Councillor Potter, to her credit, didn’t shy away from defending her position when I called her late last week.

But my issue isn’t with Barbara; she’s the whip and it’s her job to keep members in line.

I want to know why Veejay Patel won’t rule it out and kill the issue stone dead as part of his era of openness.

At the very least it’s naive politics, because his vague response means the issue will run and run. Instead of playing down the influence of Twitter in city politics it elevates it.

What’s the betting that a record number of people – many of them Leicester Twitter users – tune into the next full council meeting?

I wonder if the council will release the web stats?

You might also like:

  • A week in review – elected mayoral edition
    The Lord Mayor admired the young couple sitting before him. Richard and Stacie Newton were being given the prestigious honoured citizens award on Tuesday afternoon for their part in helping to clos...
  • Colin Hall scoops them all…
    Labour leadership night in Leicester, and what a serene affair it was too. With a clever system of self-nomination, and a closing date well in advance of the meeting, you avoid nasty surprise chall...
  • Hung out to dry
    Councillors said they had no power. Now they've lost their voice. It genuinely surprised me that two city councillors have been disciplined for their comments on capital punishment. Two counc...