MP considered standing down over abuse and death threats
Maria Caulfield MP says there were times when the level of abuse became so bad she considered standing down as an MP. Ms Caulfield who is the MP for Lewes says she even received death threats.
Ms Caulfield made the statement following a Parliamentary watchdog revealing the startling level of abuse endured by Parliamentary candidates and proposed sweeping new measures to protect and support politicians.
On Wednesday the Committee on Standards in Public Life revealed more than a third of the 950 MPs and candidates surveyed had experienced inappropriate or intimidating behaviour during this summer’s general election campaign.
The Lewes MP installed video security and panic alarms in order to protect both herself and her employees.
Maria Caulfield stopped posting live messages on social media which she worried would be used in order to track her whereabouts. In addition to this she has chosen to not publicly announce her surgery meetings in advance.
Ms Caulfield’s constituency office staff, have, on several occasions had to call police when members of the public have become abusive and threatening.
The recommendations made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life included:
- The Government should bring forward legislation to shift the liability of illegal content online towards social media companies.
- Social media companies must ensure they are able to make decisions quickly and consistently regarding the taking down of intimidatory content online.
- The Government should consult on the introduction of a new offence in electoral law of intimidating Parliamentary candidates and party campaigners.
- The political parties must work together to develop a joint code of conduct on intimidatory behaviour during election campaigns by December 2018. The code should be jointly enforced by the political parties.
- The National Police Chiefs Council should ensure that local police forces have sufficient training to enable them to effectively investigate offences committed through social media.
By Clare Calder
