Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of trends in the level of racism faced by hon. Members during the 2024 election.

The Electoral Commission’s report on the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election found that during the campaign many candidates, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, experienced unacceptable levels of intimidation and harassment. The Commission’s research showed that 34% of candidates from an ethnic minority background reported having a serious problem with intimidation compared to 14% of candidates overall. The Commission did not collect data on this issue prior to 2024 so has not made an assessment of trends in the data.

The Commission has welcomed the first report from the Speaker’s Conference on the impact of abuse and intimidation. The Commission is considering how it can support implementation of the report’s proposals for all candidates, including those from an ethnic minority background, ahead of the elections in May 2026.