[SCS0008]
Written evidence submitted by The Jo Cox Foundation
The Jo Cox Foundation makes meaningful change on issues that the late Jo Cox MP was passionate about. Underpinning this belief is the understanding that we have more in common than that which divides us. As we work to make change, we follow Jo’s example of collaborating with others and bringing people together to achieve more than we can alone. We work in three areas: we nurture stronger communities, champion respect in politics and advocate for a fairer world.
A priority of our work is The Jo Cox Civility Commission. Abuse and intimidation of elected representatives, including violence towards them, is a growing threat to democracy. Through the Jo Cox Civility Commission we have worked with experts and those with lived experience of this problem which affects politicians at a national and local level. In January 2024, we released our Call to Action with 28 recommendations to address abuse against elected representatives across the UK.
We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Speaker's Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections. This submission was drafted by: Hannah Phillips, Civility Commission Manager (hannah.phillips@jocoxfoundation.org).
We (and others) have found that threats have become “normalised” for many working in politics over the last ten years.
This rise can likely partly be explained by interrelated ‘big picture factors’ including increasing polarisation and decreasing trust in (political) institutions, and the proliferation and design of social media that exacerbates abuse and related mis-/dis-information
Deep rooted inequalities mean that certain groups – such as women and/or those from ethnic minority backgrounds – face particularly aggressive and personalised abuse.
Furthermore, the lack of political literacy means that misunderstandings and distrust can turn into abuse. Specific policy debates and decisions - from the Israel/Gaza conflict to hyper-localised planning decisions - lead to a spike in abuse.
No one factor nor group of factors can explain the growth of abuse (which means that holistic solutions are needed to address the problem and safeguard our democracy).
In-person campaigning - that is so important to our democracy - can increase candidates’ security risk. Campaigning alone by knocking on doors or running a community stall comes with particular risks.
We were particularly concerned that a number of candidates cancelled hustings appearances because of fears for their own safety. When candidates can’t participate, everyone loses. We were also concerned about the reports of intimidatory behaviour at election counts which are crucial venues for our democracy.
Many elected representatives we speak to praise their local police for taking abuse seriously and for pursuing perpetrators. Even if the pursuit does not lead to prosecution, some tell us that they believe that a visit from the police means that perpetrators are deterred from abusing others.
However, it is worth noting that while this may deter a perpetrator from continuing behaviour, that the ongoing problem shows that it is not effectively deterring others.
The nature of social media platforms with a large volume of anonymous accounts means that it can be challenging to identify and pursue perpetrators.
There is also the issue of abuse that is harmful but does not meet the criminal threshold so would not be dealt with by the criminal justice system.
As we said earlier, there are many factors leading to abuse including social media platform design, deep rooted inequalities, lack of trust in political ‘elites’ and specific policy grievances.
In terms of security, we were pleased that, in early 2024, costs associated with candidate safety were exempted from election spending limits. The Electoral Commission updated its guidance ahead of the election which seems to have effectively communicated this policy and other changes such as the use of digital imprints.
Policing seemed to have been specific and effective. We understand from police colleagues that training continues so that all police are empowered with the information they need to support candidates and politicians experiencing abuse and intimidation.
We were also pleased to see a public focus on the importance of civility and an apparent increased awareness of the problem of abuse in politics. We were pleased to join forces with the Electoral Commission to call for a civil General Election campaign, given their shocking research about abuse in the recent local elections.
The media covered incidents of abuse often with a framing of asking what the solutions to the problem were, rather than just noting the problem.
Multiple candidates spoke about the importance of civility in politics, and we’ve seen politicians from different parties being vocal in condemning abuse and attacks against others. A range of candidates signed the Civility Pledge we developed with Compassion in Politics.
While effective measures were put in place, we still saw an unacceptable level of abuse and intimidation. Candidates and activists have experienced abuse on the campaign trail, including the objects being thrown at Nigel Farage, an attack on Stella Creasy’s office and a physical assault on a volunteer. Racist insults about Rishi Sunak by a Reform Party canvasser also highlight the heightened abuse leveled at candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as the impact of abuse on politicians’ families.
We support the recommendations from The Electoral Commission in their report ‘Changes are needed to deter and respond to increasing levels of abuse and intimidation of candidates and campaigners,’ including increasing coordinated guidance and risk assessments for polling stations and election count venues.
All of us have a role to play in preventing and addressing abuse. We also believe that, as well as election-specific measures, preventing and tackling abuse and intimidation in our politics must include long-term, cultural shifts towards civility and respect.
Crucially, we believe political literacy needs to improve so everyone can understand the responsibilities of different elected representatives and how they can use their voice to bring about change. In particular, we recommend that: (1) Government should implement significant awareness campaigns for the general public aimed at increasing understanding of the role of elected representatives and promoting civility. (2) Impartial political and media literacy should be made a mandatory part of the school curriculum, including addressing how to deal with information sources and misinformation. Teachers should be adequately trained to deliver this.
We also recommend the Government should implement and resource a central unit to address abuse and intimidation of all elected politicians. This would include coordinating existing initiatives, resourcing new solutions, and facilitating information sharing between agencies. This unit should be responsible for better measurements and analysis of the problem, and should be expected to produce an annual report on the scale of the problem, actions taken, and impact. We have continued working with the Home Office's Defending Democracy Taskforce to advocate that the government adopts a more coordinated approach.
Political parties have a really important role to play in addressing abuse and intimidation. Our recommendations include: (1) Political parties should rigorously screen candidates during the candidate selection process. (2) Mandatory civility and equalities training should be implemented for all candidates. (3) Political parties should require candidates to sign up to an election code of conduct in line with The Jo Cox Foundation’s Civility Pledge. (4) Political parties must consistently enforce their existing codes of conduct, with relevant sanctions when the code is not adhered to.
Social media continues to play an important role in our politics. We recommend that social media companies should offer additional support for candidates at election times about how to protect themselves on the platform and report abuse. Advice should also be available to the general public around misinformation that might interfere with the democratic process.
While some social media companies do provide further guidance during election times, recently announced changes by social media companies on reducing content moderation capacities may make positive culture change more challenging.
We also recommend that the specific issue of abuse and intimidation of elected politicians must be considered when implementing the Online Safety Act. The regulator OfCom must actively seek the advice of civil society organisations with expertise in this area, and ensure regular, specific training. We understand that OfCom is consulting widely to develop its guidance.
In terms of individual politicians, we recommend that all politicians, and especially those in leadership roles, should model good behaviour. We also encourage politicians to report all abuse so an understanding of the level of threat is built up in police systems.
In addition to the nature of social media platforms mentioned earlier, we are also aware that some candidates are hesitant to report incidents of abuse. This may be for a variety of reasons including: lack of awareness that they could report the specific incident, hesitation to prosecute their would-be constituents or a member of the public, and not prioritising dealing with abuse in the time pressure of the election campaign.
We were pleased that our recommendation that the government should make any costs associated with candidate safety an exemption to election spending limits was adopted and fully implemented in the 2024 election. It may be helpful to further monitor candidates’ experiences with this new policy to inform any changes.
As mentioned earlier, we support the recommendations from the Electoral Commission in their report: ‘Changes are needed to deter and respond to increasing levels of abuse and intimidation of candidates and campaigners.’
As mentioned earlier, we support the recommendations from the Electoral Commission in their report: ‘Changes are needed to deter and respond to increasing levels of abuse and intimidation of candidates and campaigners.’
Barriers include: perceived and actual threats against candidates and others in public life, perceived and actual financial barriers of safely campaigning (e.g. being able to take private transport rather than public transport during a security risk), and lack of access to support from political parties or other support groups
As, mentioned earlier, the Jo Cox Civility Commission, has several recommendations including:
● Political parties have a really important role to play in addressing abuse and intimidation. Our recommendations include: (1) Political parties should rigorously screen candidates during the candidate selection process. (2) Mandatory civility and equalities training should be implemented for all candidates. (3) Political parties should require candidates to sign up to an election code of conduct in line with The Jo Cox Foundation’s Civility Pledge. (4) Political parties must consistently enforce their existing codes of conduct, with relevant sanctions when the code is not adhered to.
● We recommend that social media companies should offer additional support for candidates at election times about how to protect themselves on the platform and report abuse. Advice should also be available to the general public around misinformation that might interfere with the democratic process.
● While some social media companies do provide further guidance during election times, recently announced changes by social media companies on reducing content moderation capacities may make positive culture change more challenging.
● We also recommend that the specific issue of abuse and intimidation of elected politicians must be considered when implementing the Online Safety Act. The regulator OfCom must actively seek the advice of civil society organisations with expertise in this area, and ensure regular, specific training. We understand that OfCom is consulting widely to develop its guidance.
We understand that staff and families can be extremely impacted by abuse towards candidates and MPs. For example, staff are often the ones who manage inboxes and social media accounts and are responsible for encountering and dealing with the abuse directed at their bosses. Families can be impacted by intimidatory behaviour at the home and security protocols. Many MPs who stood down or considered standing down cite a reason as the impact that abuse towards them has had on their families.
We are pleased that the impact on staff and families has been further recognised. We were encouraged that our recommendations for parliament to provide specific support to families have been adopted. For example, the induction for new MPs has been developed with additional resources for staff and families. The Parliamentary Security Department has strengthened its advice capacity by recruiting local security advisors and is developing more specific guidance for families. We understand that a comprehensive set of security guidance for MPs with children is in preparation, due to be issued in 2025.
Mis-/dis-information during election periods (and beyond) undoubtedly increases the risk to candidates. We understand that the justice system is improving mechanisms to tackle this growing issue.
The recent changes to social media platform leadership and policies may make progress more challenging. Furthermore, the rapid development and use of AI - such as the ease of creating deepfake images, video and audio - should be considered as part of policy in this area.
We also need to address the larger cultural issues around trust of political institutions, which is why we call for increased political and media literacy as well as public awareness campaigns about the role and responsibilities of politicians and governments.
Our focus is on threats at home but undoubtedly foreign actors influence the nature and level of threats to candidates and MPs - for example when the dis-/mis-information they share is then spread by others at home.
The Conference will approach MPs, their staff, former MPs and candidates, as well as stakeholders involved in security provision, directly to hear their experiences and gather evidence on matters relating to protective security measures.
As mentioned earlier:
● Social media continues to play an important role in our politics. We recommend that social media companies should offer additional support for candidates at election times about how to protect themselves on the platform and report abuse. Advice should also be available to the general public around misinformation that might interfere with the democratic process.
● While some social media companies do provide further guidance during election times, recently announced changes by social media companies on reducing content moderation capacities may make positive culture change more challenging.
● We also recommend that the specific issue of abuse and intimidation of elected politicians must be considered when implementing the Online Safety Act. The regulator OfCom must actively seek the advice of civil society organisations with expertise in this area, and ensure regular, specific training. We understand that OfCom is consulting widely to develop its guidance.
We are pleased that the Home Office has adopted our recommendation to expand police support for local elected representatives. This is now being rolled out across the country via Operation Ford. Any ongoing measures to improve training and communication for those working in the criminal justice system is welcome.
In addition to establishing a central government unit to coordinate the response to this issue, as mentioned earlier, we suggest that all elected representatives report abuse so that the police and security forces can build up any patterns of behaviours.
We also recommend that there be mandatory training for elected representatives and their staff for preventing and addressing abuse. We understand that training is offered but cannot be made mandatory currently because of the employment status of MPs.
We also need to deal with the underlying causes of such behaviours which is why we call on increased political and media literacy including public awareness campaigns.
As mentioned earlier:
● Political parties have a really important role to play in addressing abuse and intimidation. Our recommendations include: (1) Political parties should rigorously screen candidates during the candidate selection process. (2) Mandatory civility and equalities training should be implemented for all candidates. (3) Political parties should require candidates to sign up to an election code of conduct in line with The Jo Cox Foundation’s Civility Pledge. (4) Political parties must consistently enforce their existing codes of conduct, with relevant sanctions when the code is not adhered to.
● Crucially, we believe political literacy needs to improve so everyone can understand the responsibilities of different elected representatives and how they can use their voice to bring about change. In particular, we recommend that: (1) Government should implement significant awareness campaigns for the general public aimed at increasing understanding of the role of elected representatives and promoting civility. (2) Impartial political and media literacy should be made a mandatory part of the school curriculum, including addressing how to deal with information sources and misinformation. Teachers should be adequately trained to deliver this.
● We also recommend the Government should implement and resource a central unit to address abuse and intimidation of all elected politicians. This would include coordinating existing initiatives, resourcing new solutions, and facilitating information sharing between agencies. This unit should be responsible for better measurements and analysis of the problem, and should be expected to produce an annual report on the scale of the problem, actions taken, and impact. We have continued working with the Home Office's Defending Democracy Taskforce to advocate that the government adopts a more coordinated approach.
In addition:
We would encourage the media to have a constructive approach to this issue. For example, we were pleased to see a public focus on the importance of civility and an apparent increased awareness of the problem of abuse in politics during the general election. The media covered incidents of abuse often with a framing of asking what the solutions to the problem were, rather than just noting the problem.
Civil society has a really important role to play in addressing abuse and strengthening democracy. Partners regularly tell us that our advocacy as a respected third sector organisation has allowed action to be taken in various organisations to advance safety in our democracy.
However, the funding environment to support democracy work is extremely challenging. At the time of writing, The Jo Cox Foundation currently has no dedicated funding for the future of The Jo Cox Civility Commission, despite our best efforts and multiple applications. We urge that more funding be made available for civil society organisations to address abuse in politics and support democratic engagement.
The UK is not alone in trying to address this issue. While no country can claim to have solved this issue, some examples of ways to tackle the problem of abuse towards elected representatives include the following.
International organisations including the Inter-Parliamentary Union have prioritised addressing abuse towards elected representatives.
The Organization of American States (OAS) has created several resources for addressing political violence against women specifically, including a model protocol for political parties and a model law on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women in Political Life. Several Latin American countries have gone through this specific legal route to criminalize violence against women specifically.
The civil society group HateAid in Germany conducts research and advocacy, and provides legal support to those experiencing political online abuse - including undertaking strategic litigation to hold social media companies to account.
ParityBOT by Areto Labs used to send positive tweets to women who received abusive tweets to counteract online abuse
5 February 2025
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