Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to protect election candidates from anonymous abuse on social media through the forthcoming Elections Bill.

The Government is clear that all forms of harassment, intimidation and abuse, including online and anonymous abuse, are unacceptable and have no place in our democracy. As set out in the Restoring Trust in our Democracy strategy, we are taking forward several measures through the Elections Bill to strengthen protections for those taking part in elections. This includes the introduction of an aggravating factor to empower courts to give tougher sentences to those who are convicted of intimidatory offences targeted at candidates, campaigners, elected representatives and electoral staff.

My department is also working with the Speaker’s Conference and the Electoral Commission to develop a code of conduct for campaigning, which will promote respectful political debate and set clear expectations for behaviour. This is a complex issue which requires a comprehensive response from all parts of government. We continue to work closely with departments across government and through the Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle unacceptable abuse and better protect candidates.