OK, I get it. Brexit is divisive. Leavers want to leave the EU come hell or high water and Remainers think otherwise.

And the two sides of the argument are pretty intractable. But nevertheless, there are two sides and everyone is entitled to have their say.

Now I have made my position on this pretty clear. I want to remain in a reformed EU.

That's my opinion, nothing more, nothing less. You may agree with me and you may not. That's up to you.

But I am prepared to listen to the arguments of those who think we will be better off out of Europe.

What I am not prepared to listen to is the tirade of abuse which has come our way since Local Democracy Reporter Aran Dhillon's comprehensive report in last week's Guardian.

That report stepped away from politics and spoke to ordinary folk and businesses about Brexit and reflected the views of the people he interviewed, nothing more, nothing less.

Debate is fine but borderline racism and personal attacks is not acceptable and that's what we witnessed after Mr Dhillon's considered journalism was posted on Facebook.

And there's the problem – keyboard warriors hiding behind their fake Facebook profiles thinking they can say anything they want about anything and anybody.

Generally speaking, I like to think the best of people but the evidence of recent weeks and particularly over the Brexit debate is that my optimism for society is somewhat misplaced.

It seems there is a significant minority who either can't or won't understand it is the responsibility of newspapers to report and reflect on the views of others.

That doesn't mean we support one side or the other.

That minority is becoming increasingly vocal, especially when given the protection provided by the anonymity of social media and are simply trying to shout down the other side of the argument and close down any debate.

They quote the democratic decision of the referendum as though democracy is a one-time event, cast in stone and never to be questioned.

But again, I would refer the Brexiters to David Davis's 2012 speech on the European Union when he said: “If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy.”

And trying to close down the debate by shouting loudly and rudely plays no part in a mature democracy.

I can't help but think the keyboard warriors are now terrified that democracy may rear its head again with the so-called People's Vote. That says it all.

  • Warrington North MP Helen Jones has been a somewhat vocal critic of LiveWire, the community interest company tasked with running the town's libraries and leisure centres on behalf of the council.

In the wake of the controversial library review which suggested closing Stockton Heath, Lymm, Penketh, Padgate, Culcheth, Warrington Town Centre, Burtonwood, Westbrook and Birchwood libraries, replacing some with Amazon-style 'lending lockers' and moving others into 'hubs', the council commissioned an independent review of LiveWire's governance.

Mrs Jones called for a 'full public disclosure' of the results of the investigation and said: "It is now well over a year since the governance report was commissioned and I understand that it has been completed but there remains a wall of silence from both the borough council and LiveWire as to the conclusions reached.

"This is frankly not acceptable.

"LiveWire spends public money and, following the fiasco surrounding their handling of the library consultation and the subsequent revelations about how one of their major projects was being managed, the public have a right to know what is going on."

Well, that report has now been made public and interestingly one of the revelations is that Mrs Jones herself was asked to contribute to it but declined.

I really don't know what to make of that. Seems like a glorious opportunity missed by our MP.

I wonder what her reasons were for not taking part and will we get 'full public disclosure' of those reasons?