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SALFORD MAYOR WINS NEW YEAR HONOUR FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
 

Star date: 31st December 2013

IAN STEWART WINS SALFORD STAR SOCIAL NETWORKING AWARD

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the annual Salford Star Mary Burns Awards, which are given out to honour stupid statements, dodgy dealings and iffy activities in the city over the past 12 months.

Today, in the Salford Star New Year Honours we are delighted to announce a new category for social networking. So tickle yer tweets, slap yer Facebook and go wild on yer Instagram for the winner of the `Twit on Twitter' Award… Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart…

This way down the red carpet please…

Salford Star Mary Burns Award Salford Mayor Blocked Twitter Account
click image to enlarge

THE SALFORD STAR MARY BURNS AWARDS 2013

Category: Twit on Twitter
Winner: Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart

What a year it's been for Salford Mayor Ian Stewart as he picks up his third Mary of this overlong online ceremony, this time for services to social networking.

Over the last twelve months, the Mayor has been prolifically tweeting all sorts of propaganda - while blocking access to his account for anyone who disagrees with him.

Indeed, the Salford Star has been inundated this year with complaints from residents, students and anti-fracking campaigners who have been blocked from following or socially interacting with the Mayor on Twitter.

Back in October things got a little out of hand with media students at the University of Salford as a Twitter battle ensued over their reporting of the Salford Quays Cranes trashing…

Using hash tags #amateurhour, and #playingatjournalism Stewart lashed out at the students, "most biased report I have ever seen. No balance, no input from co…" and subsequently blocked anyone who tried to join in…

"Just been blocked for voicing my opinion, freedom of speech anyone? #Censorship at its finest"… one Salford student tweeted.

"I am blocking you cos you use foul language" tweeted Stewart – but when asked to specify the `foul language' he didn't respond. Other students told the Salford Star that they had been blocked too, adding that they couldn't believe the Mayor's behaviour (see previous Salford Star article – click here).

Meanwhile, this month another Salford resident e-mailed the Star to say that he had been blocked without actually tweeting anything!

"After reading your report about the Mayor's Twitter account I decided I'd follow him, after all the account is Salford City Mayor and as a Salfordian and voter in Salford I should be able to follow my own Mayor's account" he told us.

"Anyway, I logged on today and noticed he was not in my following list, so looked for him and found he had blocked me; all I did was follow him…No messages, no comments, just `Follow'" he added "I suspect he may have noticed I've have taken a few shots at him on the Star, Facebook plus my own website... So to block me just because I don't agree with his actions is pathetic. I also notice some of my Facebook friends are following him, and one is a mad rugby fan, surprise, surprise!"

While the Salford Star doesn't follow the Mayor on Twitter (hmmmm), one of our readers - ace poet Words Escape Me – does, and was shocked when he tweeted a link to a Star article offering helpful ideas on how to save the Council money during these budget slashing times…

The Mayor tweeted: "it will be the usual mix of political extremism, economic illiteracy, impossibilist demands, hysteria and nastiness'"

Words Escape Me responded: "it's just a list of things to save money...no nastiness that I'm aware of. £3million sponsorship of the Philharmonic?? #wow"

The Mayor tweeted: "What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant' JFK `The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents..."

This lovely response, branding the Star `hysterical' and `evil', even made the Mayor the epicentre of derision on the Private Eye Rotten Boroughs page (see here and see here)…

It's all rather incredible, considering Stewart's speech on the night he was elected as Mayor…

"There will be changing methods of communication" he said, with no irony.

"We as politicians are not very good at communicating with the public" he added, with no irony.

"We need to get better at that" he concluded, with no irony.

Oh please! Social networking is about interacting with people – not blocking everyone who disagrees with you.

Ladies and gentlemen, today Labour Councillor Bernard Pennington won the awfully imperialist British Empire Medal in the Queen's New Year Honours for `services to local government and the community' - ie sitting there for a million years and not rocking the boat on the various `scrutiny committees' he attends. But we're sure that our Mayor will be more content with this lovely rusty dustbin Salford Star Mary Burns Award that he can tweet around his fawning followers.

So ladies and gentlemen, wave your smart phones, crash your computers and tickle your texts for the winner of the Twit on Twitter Award…

Salford City Mayor… I-a-a-a-n St-e-e-e-w-a-a-a-rt!!!

Applause.

If Ian would like to make an acceptance speech please use the comments box below – or he can, er, tweet his appreciation...

 

Winners of the Salford Star Mary Burns Awards 2013

The Gimme That Crown Award – Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart - click here

The Exit Stage Left Award – Barbara Spicer – click here

The Excellence in Wrecking Salford Award – Peel Holdings – click here

Bum of the Year Award – Hazel Blears - click here

The Something Stinks In Salford Award – Martin Vickers - click here

Rent-a-Crowd of the Year Award – Salford Mayor Ian Stewart - click here

The Ashley Jensen Award for Exposing Political Extremism – Assistant Mayor Gena Merrett – click here

The Eccellense In Speling Award - Greater Manchester Police Protestor Removal Team – click here

Interest Free Loans, But Not For Us, Award – click here

Trashing Salford Again You Scuzzy Fat Cat Loving, Poor People Hating, Northern Wrecking, Back Pocket Lining Arseholes Award – ConDem Government – click here
 
wrote
at 22:25:19 on 03 January 2014
So....are we or aren't we (SCC taxpayers)paying for the pleasure of the Mayors tweets? Are we also still funding the broadband/mobile phone bills for all Salford Cllrs-if so, doesn't that also mean we are funding all the political propaganda espoused by our local councillors via their respective social media accounts?
?
David Thornley wrote
at 22:24:48 on 03 January 2014
Surely it's time the mayor did the right thing for his constituents and resigned.
?
UnfortunatelyInTheKnow wrote
at 18:10:12 on 02 January 2014
Ian Stewart has never tweeted from 'his' account. 99% of tweets come from his spin doctor Matt Finnegan who tweets in the first person as if he's the mayor himself. It was noticed that 'Ian' was merrily tweeting away when he was actually away on a cruise last month. Mr Finnegan is the one who blocks accounts from following him. Some others tweets have come from members of his personal press and PR team (no longer the council's press team, they think they work directly for the mayor rather than the council).
?
wrote
at 18:59:57 on 01 January 2014
There are thousands of other workers in Salford are on minimum wage or nil hour contracts-these people gain nothing from the SCC living wage initiative. Jobcentres not fit for purpose...majority of the jobs they advertise are via recruitment agencies offering minimum wage/no job security or on nil contract hrs. Its time Cllrs start working to ensure that their party manifestos include the right to a living wage for everyone-not just council employees. I have no truck with SCC employees getting a living wage-but not addressing the plight of all other low paid workers will only create an even bigger divide in society.
?
Ex council worker wrote
at 10:45:24 on 01 January 2014
@Er, get it right Eddie, I too know people who got screwed on their wages in the council who could least afford it and the worst part about this is every union in the council turned their backs on these people, it was quietly swept under the carpet and forgotten about and the unions say they are there to represent everyone in the union, complete and utter bull shit, as bad as labour on there promises.
?
David Cameron wrote
at 10:44:50 on 01 January 2014
@alan tunnacliffe, keep voting don't let the b*sterds grind you down, Stewart and labour love the people who don't vote as much as the ones who do vote, especially if their not going to vote labour. So keep voting, remember brave men and woman died for that vote, don't let a w*nker like Stewart stop you voting.
?
Give me an OBE, for doing what i am paid to do please wrote
at 07:53:38 on 01 January 2014
@Bruce, not sure. But if you tweet him to ask then I can almost guarantee that he will have one less, when he blocks you. The mayor only wants followers who silently follow the tripe he Tweets not people who dare to question him or the clowncil.
?
Er, get it right Eddie wrote
at 07:53:35 on 01 January 2014
@Steadyeddie, you need to did a little deeper before claiming this as a great policy. Any idea how the "living wage" was paid for? No I thought not, it was paid for by taking money from other council workers who were paid just over the "living wage". Those council workers are now finding it hard to make ends meet, and all to pay for a political stunt! Makes it hard to swallow for some.
?
joe oneill wrote
at 07:53:15 on 01 January 2014
Sad really the man who promised openness blocked me also if it fails to fit In with Labours views don't bother.
?
David Cameron wrote
at 07:53:04 on 01 January 2014
Steadyeddie, segested the minimum wage, it's parliament that implements it. If the above is true, displays a sense of socialism, then becomes salford mayor and closes down vital services like restspite care for the vulnerable and at the same time continuing paying £3million a year to the BBC philharmonic orchestra, must be true about the saying about power money and curuption go hand in hand. Stewart like hazel Blears, when they leave office will be remembered with utter contempt by the people of salford, never acted in the interest of salford or it's people.
?
alan tunnacliffe wrote
at 17:35:44 on 31 December 2013
i certainly wouldnt miss him this comes from a person who has been a labour voter for 33 years but he almost single handidly with his stupid decisions and dont give a shit attitude has made it where i will never vote again so well done mr stewart
?
Bruce wrote
at 17:35:40 on 31 December 2013
How many followers has he got?
?
Steadyeddie wrote
at 17:35:34 on 31 December 2013
Er, seem to remember he introduced a living wage? No credit for that?
?
David Cameron wrote
at 08:16:28 on 31 December 2013
He sounds a little paranoid to me. Must be scratching around in his Swinton town bunker trying to find any kind of news that he has done that has been a benifit to the people of salford, as of yet I can't recall any. Time for him to sit on that comfy seat we bought him, with all his deputy mayors pore them selves a large scotch, put a gun in their mouths and do salford a favour and resign. Hands up salford, who'd miss 'em
?
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