A Stamford town councillor says she is fearful after receiving threats
A new survey shows that over a fifth of councillors have received a death threat or a threat of violence
A Stamford Town Councillor has received threats due to her involvement in a charity organisation.
New statistics from the Local Government Association (LGA) shows that over a fifth of councillors have received a death threat or a threat of violence and 23% have suffered abuse serious enough to report to the police.
Those good intentions were violated
Around half of respondents said they felt the abuse had got worse over the past 12 months, and 73 per cent of councillors experienced abuse or intimidation in their role in the past year.
The LGA says the survey shows that more could be done to ensure that those who work to represent their communities can do so in confidence.
Yvette Diaz-Munoz, a Stamford Town Councillor and chair of Stamford Diversity Group, regularly receives threats due to her involvement with the charity. She said:
"When I got the email saying that someone had made a threatening phone call, I sat in the car and had a little cry."
"I just thought we can do these things with such good intentions; we are all volunteers. I just felt that those good intentions were violated."
"I think when these things happen your initial reaction is fear. The second reaction is sadness because you're being rebuff for your attempts to make the world a better place and do your bit."
"We've had threatening phone calls after doing a Ukraine peace walk."
"We've had a material with the colours of the Ukraine flag soaked in fake blood put on the steps of a venue where we wanted to put on a commemorative event to mark the invasion of Ukraine."
Your initial reaction is fear
The survey also found that one in 10 councillors had someone attend their home in a way that they considered intimidating or inappropriate, and 43% had requested to withhold their home address from the public due to safety concerns.
10% had experienced a threat of damage to their property, and 5% had experienced actual damage to property.
11%of councillors considered that they needed modifications to their home security but had been unable to make them for financial or personal reasons.
19% of respondents had experienced abuse or intimidation relating to a protected characteristic.
Sex was the most commonly cited characteristic for which respondents had suffered abuse or intimidation.
Over half of respondents reported that their authority’s arrangements for protecting councillors were very or fairly effective.
Councillors who responded to the survey highlighted that high levels of abuse, threats and misinformation online put them off using social media or engaging with debate online.
The LGA is calling on the Government to implement changes to improve councillors' safety, including allowing councillors to withhold their addresses from publication and establishing a permanent cross-Whitehall unit to monitor, assess and address abuse, intimidation and safety of locally elected politicians and candidates.