Electoral Commission review finds abuse is reshaping election campaigning in England

Abuse and intimidation are changing how candidates participate in English elections, according to an Electoral Commission review of the local and mayoral contests held in May. Candidates described threats, aggressive confrontations, physical and verbal assaults and harassment involving their families. More than half of the Labour and Reform UK candidates surveyed said they had personally encountered inappropriate behaviour, harassment or threats to their security.

Unequal pressure on candidates

The burden was not evenly distributed. Seventy-nine percent of female candidates said they had avoided campaigning alone at least once, compared with 46% of male candidates. Women were also substantially more likely to avoid controversial subjects. The review identified minority-ethnic and disabled candidates as other groups exposed to heightened risks, including situations in which physical mobility made it difficult to leave a threatening doorstep encounter.

About one-third of respondents affected by harassment said it could deter them from standing again. That consequence reaches beyond candidates’ personal safety: reduced doorstep canvassing and greater reluctance to discuss contentious issues can narrow voters’ access to prospective representatives. Intimidation may also affect who is willing to enter local politics, potentially reinforcing the underrepresentation of groups already facing greater abuse.

Trust in voting, concern about information

The findings do not indicate a broad loss of confidence in election administration. The review found that 94% of voters in England were satisfied with the voting process, close to the comparable results in 2025 and 2022. Information integrity was a weaker point: more than half of surveyed voters said they had encountered misinformation, while one in ten reported seeing material they believed was a deepfake.

Existing protections face a practical test

The British government had already expanded candidate-security arrangements before the May elections. In March it announced a national police unit intended to identify repeat offenders, coordinate intelligence and help local forces build cases. Dedicated police contacts and security briefings were extended to candidates across local and devolved elections, while online platforms were reminded of their duties concerning illegal threats.

The commission is now seeking faster response procedures from social-media companies and stronger cross-party expectations for members and campaigners. Proposed legislation would also protect more home-address information, extend safeguards to election staff and strengthen sentencing provisions. The next test will be whether these measures reduce intimidation without restricting robust political disagreement—and whether candidates who reconsidered their future participation decide that campaigning can again be conducted safely.