The authorities will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of candidates or their supporters, whether in person or online, police and the Home Office have stated ahead of the May 7 local elections.
A network of trained officers offers bespoke support and guidance to candidates; and a national operation has been stood up, said Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams, Head of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC).
Home Office Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: “Harassment, intimidation, abuse, and violence are not acceptable political expression. We will never tolerate it, nor allow it to become the new normal. This is a year-round task, but weโre ramping up action ahead of local elections by putting in place protections and support for those campaigning, and ensuring any offenders face tough consequences.ย ย To the public and those who serve them, protecting our democracy is a shared responsibility. We all must call out this abuse whenever and wherever we see it.”
As for threats online, the UK Government says it’s engaging with social media platforms. Under Operation Bridger, a police โฏsuperintendentโฏis each police forceโฏprovides a point of contact for MPsโฏwhen they are outside of the Parliamentary Estate, which is guarded by armed police besides a uniformed security force.
LGA view
The Local Government Association (LGA) made a similar call for respect before the local elections in 2024, citing rising abuse aimed towards local councillors , heightened during election campaigns. The LGA has called for zero tolerance for actions that mount to abuse, harassment or intimidation. It offers guidance documents such as ‘handling abuse and intimidation‘; and for Operation Ford, offering protective security and policing support for councillors, elected mayors, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and candidates. Each police force now has at least one Force Elected Official Adviser (FEOA) who will be responsible for delivering Operation Ford; crimes must still be reported via 999/101/online, making clear that the incident is an โOperation Fordโ incident (defined as any act against a serving local elected official, or candidate).
Electoral Commission
The watchdog the Electoral Commission’s most recent candidate research, following the May 2025 elections, found that 61 per cent of respondents experienced harassment or security threats during the campaign. In October 2024, MPs voted for the setting up of a Speakerโs Conference on their safety and security. In its October 2025 report it stated that in recent years ‘perpetrators of abuse have been emboldened by a perception that threats and intimidation in politics are becoming more accepted. This is not helped by social media platforms normalising the idea that MPs and candidates should be expected to endure more abuse than people in other professions by showing greater tolerance for abusive content that targets politicians and other public figures.’
Leicester Inquiry
The recently published Leicester Inquiry into inter-communal unrest in the city between Muslims and Hindus noted that ‘national and local political parties have a fundamental role in promoting responsible, trustworthy political engagement that reduces communal antagonism and tension. However, they have often done the opposite and instead exacerbated communal and religious divisions, including religious hostility.’ During the summer 2022 violence, the report found, leadership ‘was primarily demonstrated by the police services, together with individual councillors and community figures’, rather than by the city council.
Background
Violence against politicians of all political colours mirrors violence moire generally against visible occupational groups such as shop staff and the emergency services and security officers. High-profile murders have been of the Labour MP Jo Cox on the eve of the EU exit vote in 2016; and of the Conservative MP Sir David Amess in 2021.
