Cornwall councillors get abuse and death threats on social media

A national report has revealed that seven in ten councillors have experienced abuse or intimidation.

The Local Government Association (LGA) carried out a survey across the country of elected officials to see the scale of the problem. And now the Local Democracy Reporting Service has found a similar picture in Cornwall.

Many councillors responded when we asked whether they had had similar experiences and some of the incidents are shocking. One councillor revealed a message from an irate member of the public which suggests they should “die”.

Several councillors said that they had never had any issues, but the majority who responded said they had experienced abuse whether in person, via communications or through social media. All who commented did not want to be identified as they did not want to encourage further abuse.

One senior Conservative councillor told us: “It is from social media really, it goes to the bone to what is acceptable. It stops me wanting to tell the story about what is going on and letting people know what the council is doing for them.

“You end up not putting up as much as you want (on social media) – you are not going to get up in the ring if you are going to get a smack in the face each time. We always get this nonsense from people about brown envelopes, it’s just annoying as we want to let people know what the council is doing but we get this negativity all the time.”

The councillor said that they were less likely to go out for a drink in their local town as they knew they were likely to get collared by people who want to take issue with council decisions.

“I am quite wary about going out (in their town) – you start to get bombarded with questions, I am happy to chat with people but sometimes it goes further than that. I don’t think councillors have it as bad as the MPs, but we are on edge as there have been a couple of MPs murdered.

“I do worry about the impact on other councillors – I am quite thick skinned, but some are not as robust and could be quite vulnerable. You do also worry about your family and whether some of the threats online could become real. It is just lazy people who are sat at home with too much time on their hands. Facebook is like a bearpit.”

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The councillor who received the message suggesting they die said they had experienced threats and intimidation in the eight years since they were first elected. However they said that it was all through electronic messages and social media.

Asked whether it had made them regret standing for election they said: “No, it’s made me more determined to stay and do my job! The numbers of people who vote for me and the generally positive reaction I get means that hopefully I’m doing a decent job of it.”

Another councillor said they had experienced abuse in person: “I have been shouted many times at in public, even on days off just walking down the road to my house. I have a couple of persistent complainers who shout at me on sight or email spurious complaints demanding my resignation frequently.”

One councillor said that he had received abuse from the Gypsy and traveller community after planning application decisions went against them – he claimed they had threatened to burn his house down.

He said: “I get abuse constantly, mainly from the Gypsy and traveller type of people, they have threatened me on numerous occasions, they have threatened to burn my house down, beat me up. Members of our parish council have been threatened and abused on many occasions as well.”

The councillor said that he was most concerned when threats are made against his family, but said that most of the time he pays no attention to the threats. “I have been called a racist and all sorts of stuff because we have turned down a planning application. I have been accused of taking brown envelopes and bribes and I just wonder, have these people seen the car I drive? Have they seen where I live? If I do take bribes then I want to know where the money is because it definitely isn’t in my bank account.”

They said that several parish councillors have walked away from their roles due to the threats and intimidation but said that they would not be defeated by it.

Cornwall's councillors say they have received threats and abuse

Another councillor said that they and their family had been left upset after they were falsely accused of having an affair by a disgruntled member of the public.

The councillor said that they had experienced abuse and threats in person and through social media but said they would not let it stop them continuing as a councillor as “I won’t let them intimidate me”.

They added: “It’s mainly social media. Usually referring to receiving brown envelopes, in it for myself only, not a clue, mostly low level. Someone did come to my house once about a planning issue and berated me wagging his finger in my face. He said put your head above the parapet expect to be shot at.”

And they said: “The worst was someone started a rumour I was having an affair, which I wasn’t, caused me and my family a lot of distress right at election time. Most who undertake online abuse are anonymous and a certain type, right wing Farage and Trump supporting types.

“I’m not sure what can be done. It’s keyboard warriors mainly. There is a malaise and race to the bottom of behaviour in public life and society generally that lumps all politics together and are fair game.”

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One councillor who responded to our questions said that they considered that the situation was getting worse and said that as a result they were considering resigning as a councillor.

The LGA has called on the Government to work with local councils to “urgently address toxic discourse and abuse against councillors or risk long-term impacts on local democracy and representation”.

It said that some councillors feel vulnerable as they are often encouraged to publish their home addresses and has called for a change so that they can proactively withhold their addresses from the public register.

LGA Chairman James Jamieson said: “Councillors are as much a part of the community as those they represent, and they should not expect to be subjected to any form of abuse because of their position. Debating and disagreeing with one another is an essential part of democracy, however abuse has no place in politics and stops residents from engaging in local government and councillors from reaching their full potential in the role.

“Council officers, including some frontline staff, are also reporting higher levels of abuse which is completely unacceptable. We need to see concrete action to protect current councillors and ensure potential future councillors feel safe to stand for election. Anyone, regardless of their background or political affiliation, should feel safe and proud to represent their community.”