More than a fifth of councillors have received death threats, or threats of violence, due to their role according to a new survey from the Local Government Association.
Alongside this, 23% of councillors have suffered abuse that is serious enough to report to the police.
The survey comes as part of the Debate Not Hate Campaign from the LGA and has found that the abuse of councillors has worsened over the last year. Released ahead of the LGA’s Annual Conference next week, the research has identified the importance of doing more to protect those who represent their communities, allowing them to do so with more confidence.
Other findings of the report include:
- One in ten councillors had someone go to their home in a way that they considered to be intimidating or inappropriate
- 43% of respondents had requested to withhold their home address from the public to protect their safety
- 10% had experienced a threat of damage to their property, whilst 5% had experienced actual property damage
- 19% had experienced abuse or intimidation relating to a protected characteristic – sex was the most common of these characteristics
- 57% reported that their authority’s councillor protection arrangements were very or fairly effective.
With these findings in mind, the LGA has called on the government to make improvements to councillors’ safety, with this including introducing allowances for councillors to hold back their addresses and establishing a permanent unit that will monitor, assess and deal with abuse and intimidation of local politicians and candidates.
Chair of the LGA’s Civility in Public Life Steering Group, Cllr Marianne Overton, said;
“These results are troubling – not only do they highlight the concerns for the safety and wellbeing of councillors but show how violence and intimidation can be corrosive to our democracy as they discourage people from taking up public office and from speaking fairly on vital issues.
“People must be able to represent their communities safely and without fear. We need cohesive communities that can debate differences in peace. Poor behaviour doesn't just impact the individual, it hurts everyone in communities, reducing the opportunity for open debate on important local issues. This has got to stop.
“We need Government to act decisively to ensure high levels of abuse do not become an accepted part of public life and that councillors are safe and confident as they carry out their vital elected role – working to represent their communities.”
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