While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech against extremism on Friday touched on ‘extremist activity’ on university campuses, and was prompted by the election of George Galloway in Thursday’s by-election in Rochdale, a cohort at risk much larger than members of parliament yet less glamorous are the thousands of councillors in local government, and it’s striking that the threats to councillors and mitigation apply equally to other occupations that routinely meet the public, writes Mark Rowe.
In a speech outside 10 Downing Street on Friday, Mr Sunak took aim at ‘Islamist extremists and the far right’, ‘forces of division’ that made democracy itself a target. He deplored how protests on the streets after the October 7 outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, have ‘descended into intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence’.
The PM pointed to how ‘council meetings and local events have been stormed’, and ‘MPs do not feel safe in their homes’. He recalled the beaming of ‘anti-semitic tropes onto Big Ben in the middle of a vote on Israel-Gaza’. Hence Mr Sunak and home affairs ministers and senior police met on Wednesday. A new ‘Defending Democracy Policing Protocol’ will cover minimum standards of policing at events, ‘to prevent intimidatory protest at homes, and to ensure protests at party offices, town halls, Parliament or other democratic venues do not inhibit democratic the process’, Home Office minister Tom Tugendhat told the House of Commons on Thursday.
While Mr Sunak may well call a general election in the spring or autumn, local and PCC (police and crime commissioner) and London mayoral elections are going ahead on Thursday, May 2. In January the Local Government Association (LGA) brought out ‘safer canvassing’ guidance.
Briefly, the advice was both about tech (use of personal safety-tracking apps on mobile phones, to raise and alert) and about good practice (such as, ‘Whenever possible, canvass in groups or pairs for safety – and because it is more enjoyable! Inform others of your whereabouts if canvassing alone’.) Not least, the guidance urges those canvassing to take the risks seriously and not brush off anything that happens (‘Prioritise team safety by halting and discussing any incidents.’)
The £31m announced by the Home Office last week, ‘to protect the democratic process and our elected representatives’, can cover members of parliament, councillors, PCCs and mayors, Tom Tugendhat told the Commons. He said: “The Operation BRIDGER network, which already provides police support to MPs, will be expanded so all elected representatives and candidates have a dedicated, named, police officer contact on security matters where needed.”
A named policing contact for security matters for councillors was welcomed by Marianne Overton, Chair of the LGA’s Civility in Public Life Steering Group. Mrs Overton, a Lincolnshire councillor, spoke of a concerning rise in abuse against locally elected representatives. She said: “Our recent analysis showed that eight out ten councillors felt personally at risk while fulfilling their elected role last year, up ten per cent from the year before.
“It is profoundly disturbing to hear of reports of councillors being harassed and intimidated whilst doing their job. It should not become the norm that councillors need to install CCTV and panic alarms in their houses to feel safe whilst fulfilling their democratic duty.
“We want to work with the Government to help take much needed steps to protect local councillors whilst they fulfil their democratic duty. This includes ending the legal obligation for a council to publish a councillor’s home address and providing greater police protection for local representatives.
“We must end abuse in public life and encourage healthy debate if we are to safeguard the future of our local democracy.”
Miranda Smythe of the personal safety consultancy Baikie-Wood recently gave a presentation for councillors. It covered surgeries and public meetings; visits to residents’ homes, and canvassing on the street and onto doorsteps, and what to do when out and about generally; and what to do with unsolicited callers to a councillor’s home.
“You have agreed to visit an elderly resident to discuss a housing issue. When you set up the meeting, you asked if anyone else would be there, and you were told that the resident would be on their own. When you arrive, the door is opened by a younger person. You hear other voices in the background plus several dogs barking inside the house. What would you do?” That was one of the scenarios posed by Miranda Smythe.
Beforehand, she recommended planning the home visit, for example by consulting with the relevant council team; asking about any issues with previous behaviour; checking that the identity of the person due to be visited matches details held on the Electoral Register (otherwise, who knows who’s waiting?) Ask who will be in the property – people and dogs? When visiting and more generally when out and about as a councillor, it’s recommended to have a companion – in other words, not to be ‘lone working’, which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identifies as making any such worker vulnerable. To return to the presentation to the LGA, councillors on a visit could agree coded language to communicate ‘discreetly’ rather than obviously discuss feeling of insecurity, which might (further) rile a host.
Once on the visit, the advice is to carry out a ‘doorstep assessment’ which is vbery much according to HSE advice. ‘Use your senses: vision, hearing, smell, gut feel … If you are uncomfortable going in, make an excuse and leave.’
We can add that other occupations that work ‘in the community’ or otherwise ‘out and about’ face these same risks, such as vicars, estate agents and nurses. Postal delivery workers particularly face a risk of attack by dogs: what to do if faced by a dog, whether barking or even one that appears quiet, and that a householder invites you to greet (the LGA presentation covered good advice about how not to and how safely to treat a dog)?
As for canvassing, the advice to the LGA again is against lone working and to ‘form pairs or teams’. Plan the areas you will visit; will you knock on doors that have ‘no cold calling’ signs? Canvassers should set ‘ground rules’ and exchange mobile phone numbers or create a WhatsApp group. Planning is stressed; from past canvassing, does the local political party know of any properties to avoid? Again, canvassers should agree coded signals. As with being out and about more generally, it’s safer during daylight hours. And once someone answers the doorbell, the canvasser should carry out a ‘dynamic risk assessment’, and judge whether to have a conversation. Do not enter a property (as that brings unknown risks). And if posting leaflets, the advice is to use a spatula (because who’s to say you’re putting your fingers into, when you push them into the letterbox?!).
When out and about, the presentation recommended ‘pedestrianship’, as when anyone is on the street: whether carrying bags and valuable items, how important it is to outwardly appear confident (scrolling your phone or viewing a paper map if you’re lost invites others to come close to you – whether to offer directions or with malice in mind). In terms of tech for personal safety, options include a personal alarm, or a phone app (and the advice is to work it out beforehand – in an incident, you won’t have time to).
While the Houses of Parliament and town or city halls alike have physical security for when elected representatives meet, typically MPs and councillors alike hold weekly or monthly surgeries in a community centre or parish hall (small buildings – that such places, often run by volunteers might fall under the Protect Duty, was a reason that the Home Office’s first draft of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill came to grief last year and the Home Office has gone out to consultation a second time on what counter-terrorism security requirements a ‘standard tier’ premises of 100 to 799 capacity). The presentation to the LGA gave this scenario; a councillor is usually allocated a room directly off the main hall. “It’s a good environment, with clear exits and a busy footfall around it. When you arrive, you are told that this room has been allocated to another meeting. All the other rooms are already occupied. You are shown down to the lower level of the building, to an isolated room at the end of a long corridor, which has zero mobile signal. It’s going to be a busy surgery … what would you do?”
A desirable place for a councillor to hold a surgery has busy footfall; a decent-sized room; good exits; a vision panel in the door or a window (to give some notice of who’s coming) and without an internal door lock (whereby someone aggressive could deny exit to a councillor within). Among ‘safe surgeries’ advice: encourage people to pre-register; again, work in pairs or teams; use a table to create space, and stand-off distance between councillor and whoever’s attending; sit across the table from your visitor(s), again to create distance in case of violence; and nearest the exit (so as to make a get-away if necessary); and keep any hot drink next to you on the floor (so that it cannot be thrown) and your table clear (again, so items cannot be used as a weapon or stolen).
As for unsolicited visitors to your home: the risk could be of a stalker, as potentially faced by any private individuals or those in the public eye such as a radio or TV presenter, singer or politician. Among the recommendations are a deterrent notice: “no uninvited visitors” Install a digital doorbell, or a chain, so that you can open the door without giving the person on the doorstep the chance to barge in. If a councillor chooses to answer the door, the advice is to ‘talk on the doorstep. or look as though you are just leaving for an appointment’. Politely refuse to engage in immediate conversation – take their number and invite them to your next surgery. If it’s an ‘adrenalised group’, you should secure your door and contact the police. Never invite someone you don’t know – or trust – into your home.
