Local councillors: Impact of increasing abuse and intimidation

Approximate read time: 15 minutes

The House of Lords is scheduled to consider the following question for short debate on 4 June 2026:

Lord Forbes of Newcastle (Labour) to ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing abuse and intimidation on the recruitment, retention and wellbeing of local councillors; and what action they intend to take in response.

Lord Forbes served as leader of Newcastle City Council between 2011 and 2022.^[1] While in that position he served as leader of the Labour group and senior vice chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) between 2016 and 2022. He is currently a non-executive director at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.^[2]

1. Background on levels of abuse and intimidation directed at local councillors

Bodies such as the Electoral Commission and the LGA have noted increasing levels of abuse, harassment and intimidation directed at those both seeking and holding elected office in local government in recent years.^[3]

The LGA has explained these terms have “various social and legal meanings” but are “often used interchangeably as the experience for victims can overlap”.^[4] It defines them as follows:

• The LGA cites the government’s definition of abuse as a single act or repeated physical, verbal or psychological acts that violate an individual’s human and civil rights. It adds some cases of abuse constitute criminal offences. For example, physical, psychological or sexual assault, theft, fraud and gender and racial discrimination.
• The LGA adds that someone’s actions amount to harassment when they make the victim feel distressed, humiliated, threatened or fearful of further violence. It notes the “main goal of harassment is to persuade victims either not to do something that they are entitled or required to do or to do something that they are not obliged to do”. It observes actions that can amount to harassment include, but are not limited to, phone calls; letters; emails; visits; stalking; verbal abuse of any kind, including on social media; threats; damage to property; or bodily harm.
• The LGA furthermore defines intimidation as “words and/or behaviour intended or likely to block, influence or deter participation in public debate or causing alarm or distress which could lead to an individual wanting to withdraw from public life”. It notes this includes actions such as verbal abuse; physical attacks; being stalked, followed or loitered around; threats of harm; distribution of misinformation; character assassination; inappropriate emails, letters, phone calls and communications on social media; sexual harassment or sexual assault; and other threatening behaviours, including malicious communications such as poison pen letters, indecent or grossly offensive emails, or graphic pictures that aim to cause distress or anxiety.

The LGA launched its ‘Debate not hate’ campaign in 2022 following a survey earlier that year which found that seven in 10 councillors had experienced abuse or intimidation.^[5] It has since published the results of three dedicated annual surveys on the issue.^[6] The most recent of these, conducted between May and June 2025, sought to investigate the “extent to which abuse and intimidation remains rife in public life, as well the nature and scale of abuse and intimidation”. The LGA listed the ‘key findings’ of its 2025 survey, completed by 1,861 councillors (a response rate of 11%), as follows:

• Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) reported feeling personally at risk when fulfilling their role as councillor, which remains consistent with last year’s [2024’s] survey (74%). This was higher among women (84%), ethnic minorities (84%), the LGBT+ community (85%), and disabled respondents (85%).
• 72% of respondents reported experiencing abuse or intimidation due to their role as councillors over the last 12 months. Similarly, this was higher among women (78%), the LGBT+ community (85%), and disabled respondents (86%).
• A quarter of respondents (25%) had experienced a threat of violence or a threat of death against themselves or someone close to them.
• More than half of respondents (52%) had experienced the spread of misinformation about either their personal or political character, whilst 11% had been the victim of the inappropriate publication of their personal information.
• A fifth of respondents (21%) had reported an incident of abuse or intimidation to the police, yet 30% of those felt the policing response had not addressed their concern at all. More than half of respondents (58%) reported that their authority’s arrangements for protecting them were very or fairly effective.
• More than half of respondents (56%) have decided not to stand or are currently unsure about standing at the next elections. Of those, a quarter (26%) reported that the possibility of abuse or intimidation had influenced their position on whether to stand; this was higher among female respondents, at 32%, and among disabled respondents, at 37%.^[7]

In October 2025 the elected leaders of the UK’s local government associations—the LGA in England, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA)—agreed a joint statement in support of their joint ‘Civility in public life’ programme. The statement read:

Local communities thrive when everyone feels safe, included and valued. However, we are increasingly troubled by threats and violence against councillors and officers. Protecting the safety and wellbeing of all is paramount to maintaining a vibrant, representative local government.

Some councillors are being exposed to high volumes of vitriolic abuse, personal attacks and misinformation online, pushing them out of public life and creating a negative effect on democratic participation. Debate and free speech, including criticism, are cornerstones of a healthy democracy, and social media is a powerful tool for connection when exercised with mutual respect and responsibility.

However, the intimidation, abuse and harassment of people in public office, whether in person, online or by other means, poses a serious and real threat to local democracy. These behaviours prevent officers and councillors from fulfilling their roles, deter dedicated community representatives from standing for election and erode public trust in democratic institutions and processes.

We recognise that to effect change, those in public life have a responsibility to model positive behaviours, which add value to and strengthen local democracy. Robust debate, disagreement and legitimate scrutiny are vital, but abuse, intimidation, threats and harassment are unacceptable.

Across our four nations, COSLA, LGA, NILGA and WLGA reaffirm our commitment to promoting civility in public life. We stand united in fostering constructive dialogue, countering harmful disinformation, and supporting councils so that they can serve their communities with confidence and dignity.

We call on the UK government to collaborate with the devolved governments, local government associations and the police to establish formal arrangements that address the abuse and intimidation of everyone in public life, whether officers, candidates or elected politicians. These new arrangements should aim to coordinate existing initiatives, resource new solutions and security mitigations and facilitate information sharing between agencies.^[8]

Following the 7 May 2026 local elections in England, BBC News reported on candidates’ and councillors’ experiences of abuse during campaigns.^[9] The reports suggested an increasingly hostile political atmosphere had been a factor in Councillor Yvonne Gagen (Labour) having decided to step down as leader of West Lancashire Council. Ms Gagen told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

I’m stepping down as leader and a new one will be decided at the full council later this month. Politics has changed and become quite nasty. I’ve been spat at in a shop and called a traitor. I’ve been a councillor for 16 years. I don’t want to leave local politics but I don’t like the environment any more. I’ve also attended Liverpool Regional Authority meetings and I think quite a few women are thinking about standing down from politics for similar reasons. I don’t think I’ll continue as a councillor after next year, when my term is up, because of how difficult it is.^[10]

2. Government policy on the issue

The government has previously said there is “no place in local government for bullying, intimidation or harassment” and that it supports the LGA’s ‘Civility in public life’ programme.^[11] This offers training for councillors related to personal safety, handling abuse, and intimidation online.^[12]

The government published its elections strategy in July 2025.^[13] In a section entitled ‘Upholding our values’, the government said the UK’s democracy was threatened by “unacceptable intimidation”. It continued:

We must act now to secure our democracy, to protect it from interference from malign actors, and to ensure the safety of all those participating. By acting to uphold the values which underpin our elections we will further strengthen our democracy and be better placed to encourage full participation from eligible voters.

Thoughtful and respectful debate underpins our politics. We come from a multitude of diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, and values are often sincerely held and passionately argued, but where healthy argument spills over into harassment, intimidation and abuse it is simply unacceptable.

In recent years, we have witnessed abhorrent behaviours directed at candidates, campaigners and electoral staff, with unacceptable violence, abuse and intimidation linked to the political debate. This behaviour is becoming more widespread, with recent research from the Electoral Commission showing a significant number of candidates in the 2024 elections—43% of responding candidates in England at the May 2024 local elections; 55% of responding candidates at the 2024 general election—experienced some kind of abuse or intimidation […]

Intimidation and harassment of voters, electoral staff, candidates and campaigners—both online and in person—is totally unacceptable and has a profoundly detrimental impact on our democracy. We take these risks and threats to our democracy seriously and whilst there are already a range of protective measures and deterrents in place, it is clear that more action must be taken to protect voters, candidates, and election staff from intimidation, threats and violence. This must be carefully balanced against the protection of freedom of speech.^[14]

The strategy said the government’s defending democracy taskforce, chaired by Minister for Security Dan Jarvis, would continue to “coordinate and drive forward a cross-government response to the full range of threats to our democracy and to further protect those participating in our political processes”.^[15] The document added the government would pursue various measures to address harassment and intimidation, including:

• extending disqualification orders to cover elections staff^[16]
• introducing a new statutory power for courts to treat hostility against candidates, campaigners, elected representatives or electoral staff as an aggravating factor when sentencing
• removing the requirement for candidates’ home addresses to be published
• requiring candidates to provide evidence of their identity

The government’s Representation of the People Bill, introduced in the House of Commons in February 2026 and since carried over into the new session, would make provision for these measures.^[17]

Minister for Security Dan Jarvis made a statement on the government’s defending democracy taskforce in March 2026.^[18] Looking ahead to the elections scheduled to be held in May 2026, he said a “full-time network of 66 Home Office-funded official advisers” would be available to support elected representatives. He added that a new threat assessment centre would also assist with “centralising and coordinating intelligence nationally for incidents that target locally elected representatives”. After a summary of further measures the government had taken or was taking to address abuse and intimidation, such as introducing powers to protect public office holders from protests outside their homes via the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and further strengthening guidance, Mr Jarvis concluded:

We must challenge at every turn the notion that abuse, threats and intimidation are now an inevitability for those working in politics and public life. Across our society we must never become desensitised to rhetoric about harming those who serve in public life. When we hear it or see in our communities, it should be challenged, not shrugged off as some new normal. All of us in this House must also lead by example. Those entrusted with public office set the tone for our national conversation. If we allow abuse to creep into our exchanges, whether in the House or on the campaign trail, we risk normalising behaviour that undermines democratic debate. By leading with civility, even in moments of sharp disagreement, we demonstrate to the country that principled argument can co-exist with mutual respect […]

History shows us that our democracy is precious, so today, together we should draw a line, declaring with one voice that we will not be deterred from serving the public, and we will never tolerate abuse, threats and intimidation. Together we will confront unacceptable behaviour, hold perpetrators to account, and defend our democratic way of life. In doing so, we honour the words of Jo Cox, who taught us that we “have far more in common than that which divides us”.^[19]

3. Read more

• Statement on ‘Defending democracy taskforce’, HC Hansard, 12 March 2026, cols 523–37
• UK Parliament, ‘Representation of the People Bill’, accessed 18 May 2026
• Electoral Commission, ‘Abuse and intimidation’, updated 17 November 2025; and ‘Our reports and data on past elections and referendums’, accessed 18 May 2026
• Local Government Association, ‘Civility in public life’ and ‘Debate not hate’, both accessed 18 May 2026
• Local Government Association, ‘Must know: Operation Ford and policing crime against elected members’, 14 January 2026
• House of Commons Speaker’s Conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections, ‘First report’, 2 June 2025, HC 570 of session 2024–26; and ‘Second report’, 27 October 2025, HC 1303 of session 2024–26. See also: ‘Letter from the Local Government Association (dated 14 July 2025)’, 8 September 2025; and ‘Speaker’s Conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections: Government response’, 5 March 2026, HC 1709 of session 2024–26
• House of Commons Library, ‘Intimidation of candidates and voters’, 30 March 2026
• Committee on Standards in Public Life, ‘Intimidation in public life’, updated 22 October 2019

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