Rise in abuse of election candidates is ‘changing politics’ in England

Electoral Commission finds abuse, particularly of women, minority ethnic and disabled people, is affecting candidates’ behaviour

Abuse and intimidation of election candidates is “a serious and growing concern”, the Electoral Commission has said, as a review of this year’s local and mayoral elections in England revealed a surge in threats to those who stood.

More than half of the candidates for Labour or Reform UK reported abuse while those most likely to be targeted were women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and those with disabilities.

A report by the commission said candidates described being spat at and verbally and physically assaulted. It found that levels of abuse had reached the point where it was changing the behaviour of people standing in elections.

“I had to take my husband out on the door this time, which was a first,” said one candidate, who was among a third of those who said they may not stand for election again because of harassment or intimidation.

They added: “I felt quite independent previously, but there was so much anger from men of an older age at the door and some younger men, all disillusioned by politics and let down.

“I did understand that, but it was the anger and insults and close confrontation at times which was so aggressive. I feel I have to protect myself in public and not be on my own, for the first time in local politics, and will never put myself in any vulnerable places on my own again.”

Female candidates were more likely to change their behaviour over such concerns. More than three-quarters (79%) said they avoided campaigning on their own at least once, compared with 46% of male candidates, while 57% avoided speaking on controversial topics, compared with 32% of men.

Vijay Rangarajan, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission , said: “Our single biggest worry now is this rise in abuse and intimidation. It’s not directed at any one party and there seems to be a variety of causes.”

He said there was an increasing trend towards the “othering” of political opponents, “literally, a dehumanisation” and a blurring of the boundaries of civility, in some cases driven by social media.

“I think we’re going to see a kind of complete blurring of the online and offline worlds,” he said. “We’ve seen people in the real world walk down the street filming someone to produce an online video. And then when others see that online video, they get very angry and they go and start following someone else down the streets. So this kind of real, complete interaction between online and offline is a real feature.”

Rangarajan said he was struck by two particular cases. One was a disabled candidate who said they were threatened on the doorstep but “couldn’t run away” because of their disability.