Portsmouth politicians report rising levels of abuse in public life

Portsmouth politicians have spoken about the abuse and intimidation they face, amid growing concern that hostility is becoming normalised in British politics.

Councillor Charlotte Gerada, leader of the city’s Labour group, this week shared her experience of being verbally abused in the Fratton branch of Tesco, an incident she said that left her upset.

She said she was leaving a supermarket when a man shouted ‘Labour f-ing scum’ towards her. She said it “really shook me up” that a man would “feel okay verbally abusing a pregnant woman”.

Sharing her experience on social media, she thanked the staff at the supermarket, who referred the matter, along with CCTV footage, to the police.

She added she was also “abused outside my daughter’s nursery in the past week and I had my ‘Vote Labour’ garden stake vandalised by two different men at my home”.

In her post she said that abuse “is not acceptable and it has no place in our democracy or society”.

She argued that Reform UK is contributing to a culture in public life where it is seen as “freedom of speech” for the public to say what they like about who they like, without thought for the impact, creating a “toxic political culture” which is making communities “less safe” for politicians and “only serves to weaken our democracy”.

“The threat to politicians is serious and, at the extreme end, politicians have been murdered for being elected to public office.”

The councillor’s experiences come ten years after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox who was shot and stabbed by neo-Nazi Thomas Mair outside her constituency office.

And despite many across the political spectrum coming together to promote togetherness and tolerance many politicians still continue to face threats and abuse.

Cllr Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council, said he had been the victim of a campaign of abuse for over a year after being targeted by false accusations that he had condemned protesters as “nazis” and “racists”.

It also followed misinformation regarding the council’s sanctuary pledge, and false accusations that the council tried to cover up details of a court case involving an asylum seeker who was later acquitted of rape.

He said those falsehoods led to “posters put up around the city labelling me as a rapist, people pulled up outside my house and screamed ‘f ing rape enabler’ at my property, I received abusing phone calls, emails and death threats.”

He said his experience had made him “think long and hard” about whether he would stand again as a candidate, but he decided to press ahead as he is “passionate about the place I was brought up”.

Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, said she was “confronted” by a man who was “very abusive” towards her while campaigning in Cosham only last week.

“Some of this has been deliberately fuelled by political opponents spreading false or misleading information in an attempt to create outrage and whip up hostility online,” she said.

“While robust debate is part of democracy, targeted abuse and intimidation should never become normalised in public life. My message to anyone engaging in politics is simple: disagreement is healthy, abuse is not. We can and should have passionate political discussions without resorting to personal attacks, threats or attempts to intimidate others.”

Reform UK Cllr George Madgwick said members have also reported “an incredibly large amount of abuse online and in person,” with one receiving a threat posted through their front door and others subjected to stalking and being “physically chased down the street”.

The group said some members had also faced “increasing levels of fictitious slander and abuse,” warning that in some cases it was extending to relatives and loved ones.

It added that while people are “free to express different views and opinions,” many were now “overstepping those boundaries” and attempting to “physically or mentally harm councillors”.

“No matter what your beliefs you should be able to do your role as a councillor without abuse from the wider public and people should be able to debate without overstepping boundaries.”

The Electoral Commission’s report on the 2024 general election found that 70 per cent of candidates experienced at least one form of abuse.

It also found that women and ethnic minority candidates reported higher levels of serious abuse, with 56 per cent of female candidates saying they avoided campaigning alone or discussing controversial issues.