Campaigners told to respect rivals as local election abuse rises

Political parties should require members to respect one another during elections, the Electoral Commission has said after finding rising levels of abuse.

More than half of candidates in the May 2026 English local and mayoral polls experienced a problem with harassment or intimidation, the highest level over the last four years, according to its survey of 25,000 who stood.

A report , external published on Monday said such issues were most likely to affect women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and those with a disability.

The watchdog is calling on political parties to make clear in their own rules that members "must respect other campaigners", with potential disciplinary action if they do not.

The report also recommended requiring social media companies to improve protections for electoral candidates online, including rapidly removing abusive content and identifying perpetrators.

Inappropriate contact through social media was the most frequently experienced scenario of harassment or abuse for local candidates, the survey found, with disinformation through generative AI also flagged as an issue.

One candidate told the survey their daughter had "called me from school crying" because she had seen posts online branding them "racist, fascist and Nazi".

Another candidate reported being screamed at with death threats while leafleting on doorsteps, but could not run away because of their disability.