About four in 10 candidates for May’s local elections in England, Scotland and Wales reported suffering abuse, threats or intimidation, rising to more than seven in 10 in Northern Ireland, the UK’s elections watchdog has found.
Responses received by the Electoral Commission from more than 1,000 candidates uncovered what the organisation called alarming levels of such behaviour, saying ministers needed to take urgent action to address the situation.
While the Elections Act, passed earlier this year, has brought in new sanctions for intimidation, the commission warned that the slow rollout of the act’s changes, which also include controversial requirements for voters to show ID, risked putting extra pressure on already stretched election teams.
The commission’s study of abuse or intimidation at May’s elections found that 40% of candidates in England said they had experienced this, with 44% in Scotland, 40% in Wales and 71% in Northern Ireland.
The majority of the abuse or threats were online, either from identifiable members of the public or anonymous users.
The study had an element of self-selection in that candidates were invited either by a shared link or a direct email to complete the survey, rather than being selected as a representative sample. In total, 1,204 responses were received, ranging from 4% of all candidates in England to just under 30% in Northern Ireland.
Candidates were asked to set out on a scale of one to five how much of an issue threats, abuse or intimidation had been for them in the elections, with one being no problem at all and five a serious problem. Those who selected two or above were counted as having experienced it.
Craig Westwood, the commission’s director of communications, policy and research, said: “Urgent action is needed to prevent the abuse and intimidation of candidates and campaigners at elections. It is vital that candidates can participate in elections without fear.
“The commission will work with governments and the wider electoral community to make sure we understand what is driving this issue, and address it as a matter of urgency.”
Many election teams across the UK had reported issues finding staff or suitable venues for polling stations and counts, Westwood said, adding that new requirements such as the voter ID law “will put additional pressure on election teams at local councils, whose capacity is already under strain”.
He said: “There have been significant delays in the development of the law that sets out the detail of these new requirements. We are concerned about the impact these delays could have on the effective implementation of the changes.
“The UK government should make sure that policies are introduced with proper funding and enough time for voters and election teams to prepare.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which now has responsibility for elections issues, was contacted for comment.
