Intimidation of candidates and voters

Intimidation of candidates

The 2024 general election saw an “alarming rise” in candidate abuse. The Electoral Commission said some of the activities seen, including slashing tires and targeting candidates’ families, were “totally unacceptable”. It also said intimidation and abuse was putting people off campaigning.

Local councillors are also experiencing high levels of abuse and threats, particularly online. The Local Government Association 2024 survey of councillors showed that of those respondents who participated in elections this year, almost three quarters (73 per cent) experienced some level of abuse or intimidation during the campaign period.

Speaker’s conference

On 14 October 2024 the House of Commons approved a motion to establish a committee known as a Speaker’s conference to examine the threat level against MPs. It has been asked to make recommendations about “the arrangements necessary to secure free and fair elections and the appropriate protection of candidates.” The conference is due to operate for the whole of the current parliament.

There has been increasing concern for some time. In October 2019, the Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report, Democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of association: Threats to MPs. It drew attention to the ongoing threats to MPs and people standing for office.

Following the 2017 general election, the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, asked the Committee on Standards in Public Life to conduct a short review of the issue of intimidation experienced by parliamentary candidates and in public life more broadly. The committee’s report was published in December 2017. One of the recommendations was that the UK Government should consult on a new crime in electoral law of intimidating candidates during an election period.

In July 2018 the government consulted, Protecting the Debate: Intimidation, Influence, and Information. The response to the consultation was published in May 2019.

Disqualification orders

The provisions resulting from the 2018 consultation were included in the Elections Act 2022. It introduced a new penalty, disqualification orders, for the offence of intimidatory behaviour towards election candidates and campaigners, which came into force in November 2023.

The penalty can be imposed for people convicted of existing intimidatory offences when the intimidation is directed at election candidates or campaigners during a referendum. It is designed to deter intimidatory behaviour during an election or referendum period.

A disqualification order disqualifies the person convicted from holding elected office for five years and can be imposed in addition to any sentence resulting from a criminal conviction.

The disqualification order applies to all elected offices in the UK except for membership of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish local government. After consulting on proposals, the Scottish Government introduced legislation in January 2024 that includes provisions to extend disqualification orders for membership of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish local government.

Intimidation of voters

This briefing also examines ‘undue influence’, the electoral offence of intimidating voters. It is one of the ‘classic’ electoral fraud crimes that date from the Victorian era, when electoral fraud was commonplace.

In 2016 the Law Commission recommended the law on undue influence should be modernised. It said it should be restated as an offence of intimidation, deception, and improper pressure on voters.

Another report in 2016 on electoral fraud by Lord Pickles, then the Government’s anti-fraud tsar, also recommended changes to the offence of undue influence. He was concerned about the level of intimidation of voters outside polling stations and spiritual influence of faith leaders. He wanted to ensure voters of any faith were protected from having their religious beliefs manipulated in order to prevent them freely exercising their vote.

The Government’s 2018 consultation, Protecting the Debate, included questions on the scope of undue influence. It intended to maintain the general purpose of the offence, that it should refer to threats of violence, non-physical threats of harm, and duress, including from people in people in positions of power such as faith leaders.

This led to provisions in the Elections Act 2022. These modernised the definition of undue influence for reserved elections. Elections to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and Scottish and Welsh local council elections retain the old definition.