With the beginning of this week marking election week for councils across the country, the Local Government Association (LGA) has come together with the Jo Cox Foundation and the Electoral Commission to lead a call for no abuse of candidates.
This call has led to people being urged to treat candidates with respect and dignity, as well as not engaging in behaviour that could be construed as harassment or intimidation. The importance of this message comes amid concerns over the increased level of abuse and intimidation aimed at local councillors.
Chair of the LGA’s Civility in Public Life Steering Group, Cllr Marianne Overton, said:
“Being a councillor is one of the most unique and rewarding roles you can have.
“It’s really important that everyone participating in these local elections are treated with respect, focussing on the debate itself and free of abuse and intimidation.
“It is profoundly disturbing to hear reports of councillors being harassed and intimidated whilst doing their job. It cannot become the norm that councillors need to install CCTV and panic alarms in their houses to feel safe whilst fulfilling their democratic duty.
“Anyone, regardless of their background or political affiliation, should feel safe to become a councillor. We must do all we can to stamp out abuse from public life and encourage healthy debate if we are to safeguard the future of our local democracy.”
Recently, the LGA found that 75% of councillors in England and Wales have experienced some form of intimidation or abuse during their election campaigns last year, whilst a survey by the Electoral Commission found that 24% of candidates at the last local elections experienced someone else making them feel unsafe, intentionally. A further 12% of those reported their harassment to the police.
Increasing abuse of local politicians – evidenced by the 9% rise in councillors feeling personally at risk – is a threat democracy, with this also putting people who want to make a difference off becoming councillors and representing their communities. In response to this the LGA has launched its Debate Not Hate campaign, which looks to raise public awareness of the role councillors play in their communities, as well as encouraging healthy debate and improving support for politicians facing abuse and intimidation.
Louise Edwards, the Electoral Commission’s Director of Regulation and Digital Transformation, also commented:
“The safety and security of candidates and elected representatives is of paramount importance, and it should go without saying that there is no place in a democracy for abuse or intimidation of those who participate in elections. Yet our research shows that candidates standing for election experience abuse, threatening behaviour, and intimidation during their campaigns – both on social media and in person.
“No-one should be dissuaded from running for fear of abuse during a campaign. It benefits all voters for there to be a wide and diverse pool of candidates to choose from, so it’s important that candidates feel safe. We will be working with parties and campaigners ahead of the elections this year to understand their experiences, ensure they understand how to report abuse and to discuss the standards of behaviour that all candidates should be able to expect.”
Whilst the majority of this abuse is low level, severe abuse is being experienced by more and more councillors, with this including stalking and violence threats. Some of this behaviour has resulted in criminal prosecutions.
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