LGA calls on government to change law to protect councillors from abuse

Article summary

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published the findings it has received for its call for evidence of abuse and intimidation. The LGA has found that seven in ten councillors reported experiencing abuse and intimidation in the last 12 months, with one in ten experiencing abuse frequently, and some councillors receiving targeted and personalised abuse due to their protected characteristic. As a result, the LGA has called on the government to prioritise a change in legislation to ‘put it beyond doubt’ that councillors can proactively withhold their home address from the public register and to work with local authorities and partners to urgently address toxic discourse and abuse, or risk 'long-term impacts' on local democracy and representation.