I have been impressed in recent weeks at the usefulness of Twitter in engaging with councillors and other movers and shakers in and around Exeter City Council. Within limits, though, as you’ll be able to see from the list below arranged by political party. (Please let me know if I’ve missed any.) It’s a shame that few of the @ExeterTories are individually on Twitter, not least because two of them are the councillors in my ward. Maybe it’s a policy, but they and their ‘constituents’ are missing out.
@TweetyHall aimed to “Getting councillors out of the Town Hall and onto the Tweets”. On its [now defunct] website it said “We are passionately committed to local democracy and see Twitter as one key way to connect local residents with views and opinions on their local area with the people empowered to help them do something about it. TweetyHall helps join the dots.” Sounds good to me… Who’s doing this now?
Here’s my Exeter City Twitter list, to which you can subscribe to follow the conversation, and all councillors’ contact details on the Exeter City Council website.
| Councillor | Political party | Ward | Twitter handle |
| Andrew Leadbetter | Conservative | St Loyes | |
| David Henson | Conservative | St Loyes | |
| Jake Donovan | Conservative | Pennsylvania | @CllrJakeDonovan |
| John Winterbottom | Conservative | St Leonards | |
| Lee Mottram | Conservative | Duryard | @parklanegarden |
| Margaret Baldwin | Conservative | Topsham | |
| Norman Shiel | Conservative | St Leonards | |
| Percy Prowse | Conservative | Duryard | |
| Rob Newby | Conservative | Topsham | |
| Tyna Crow | Conservative | Heavitree | @tynacrow |
| Yolonda Henson | Conservative | Polsloe | |
| Catherine Dawson | Labour | Mincinglake | @cllrdawson |
| Gill Tippins | Labour | Priory | @GillTippins |
| Greg Sheldon | Labour | Heavitree | @CllrGregSheldon |
| Heather Morris | Labour | Cowick | @CLLRMORRIS |
| Ian Martin | Labour | Mincinglake | @ian0martin |
| Keith Owen | Labour | St James | |
| Lesley Robson | Labour | Priory | @CllrRobson |
| Marcel Choules | Labour | Priory | |
| Margaret Clark | Labour | Alphington | |
| Moira Macdonald | Labour | Pinhoe | @neBhasikoro |
| Ollie Pearson | Labour | Exwick | @olliepearson |
| Paul Bull | Labour | Cowick | @Paul4Cowick |
| Peter Edwards | Labour | Whipton Barton | @CllrPeteEdwards * |
| Philip Bialyk | Labour | Exwick | @philbialyk |
| Rachel Lyons | Labour | Polsloe | |
| Rachel Sutton | Labour | Exwick | @CllrSutton |
| Richard Branston | Labour | Newtown | |
| Rob Crew | Labour | Alphington | @Rob4Alphington |
| Rob Hannaford | Labour | St Thomas | @RobMHannaford * |
| Roger Spackman | Labour | Newtown | @cllrspackman |
| Rosie Denham | Labour | Whipton Barton | @rosiedenham |
| Sarah Laws | Labour | St Davids | |
| Simon Bowkett | Labour | Pinhoe | @Simon_Bowkett |
| Tony Wardle | Labour | Whipton Barton | |
| Adrian Fullam | Liberal Democrats | St Thomas | @AdrianFullam |
| Kevin Mitchell | Liberal Democrats | St James | |
| Rod Ruffle | Liberal Democrats | Alphington | |
| Stella Brock | Liberal Democrats | St Davids | @StellaBrock8 * |
| Tim Payne | Liberal Democrats | Pennsylvania |
* Hasn’t tweeted yet – please encourage!
Updated: Added a few I’d missed that didn’t come up in Twitter search, including the three Conservatives.