Committee publication · Report · 27 October 2025 · HC 1303
2nd Report - The Speaker’s Conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections
From: Speaker's Conference (2024)
Inquiry: Speaker’s Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections
Government response deadline: 23 December 2025
Summary
This is the Speaker's Conference's second and final report on the security of MPs, candidates, and elections. Published October 2025, it examines public attitudes, the criminal justice response, and social media's role in driving threats and abuse against politicians. The Conference concludes that addressing abuse requires reducing threat levels through improved citizenship education, consistent criminal justice responses, and stronger social media regulation, rather than further physical security measures.
Key findings
- 96% of MPs surveyed reported experiencing at least one form of abuse, intimidation, or harassment; female candidates are twice as likely to be threatened, ethnic minority candidates three times as likely
- Perpetrators are emboldened by perceptions that abusing public figures is increasingly acceptable, driven by erosion of trust in institutions, lack of political literacy, and online disinhibition effects
- Criminal justice response is inconsistent across police forces and prosecutors; specialist teams and a statutory aggravating factor for crimes targeting elected officials are needed to strengthen deterrence
- Vast majority of abuse occurs online; social media platforms normalise abuse of politicians but show no commitment to addressing underlying causes without legal obligation
- Citizenship education from KS1 to post-16 should be strengthened to teach democracy, political literacy, critical thinking, and understanding of policy trade-offs; MPs should actively engage with schools
Recommendations
- Department for Education's Curriculum and Assessment Review should ensure National Curriculum includes comprehensive citizenship education from KS1 to post-16, covering democracy, human rights, rule of law, media literacy, critical thinking, practical deliberation experience, and understanding of civic responsibilities. Teachers must receive appropriate training.
- MPs should actively engage with young people in local areas to support citizenship education. Parliament's Education and Engagement Team should expand resources for presentations and workshops designed for different age ranges.
- MPs should be encouraged to engage with students during UK Parliament Week. Education and Engagement Team should facilitate these visits and manage administrative tasks.
- Local councillors and other elected officials should engage with schools in their local areas with support from relevant local government bodies.
- Police and Crown Prosecution Service should establish small specialist teams to investigate and prosecute anti-democratic crimes, beginning with a National Police Chief's Council portfolio to improve consistency and senior ownership.
- Government should ensure statutory aggravating factor for crimes targeting candidates, campaigners, and elected representatives covers crimes motivated by hostility towards officials but directed at their staff or representatives.
- Ofcom must make full use of regulatory powers under Online Safety Act 2023; Government should prepare for further social media regulation as technology evolves.
- All MPs should protect themselves and staff by using protective social media tools (restricting replies, blocking abusive users) and considering leaving platforms posing greater risk than benefit.
- Public awareness campaign needed to address current perpetrators, involving behavioural science interventions, messaging that normalises respectful debate, and prompts encouraging reflection before posting.
Tone
CriticalTopics
democratic-securitypolitical-abusesafeguardingsocial-media-regulationeducation
Key actors
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Electoral Commission, Ofcom, Crown Prosecution Service, Parliamentary Security Department, Dr Sofia Collignon, Liz Moorse, Professor Helen Fenwick, Elisabeth Costa
Notable line
“… democracy is weakened by abuse, intimidation and personal attacks, which stifle debate and dissuade candidates from standing.”
Key Quotes
“… democracy is weakened by abuse, intimidation and personal attacks, which stifle debate and dissuade candidates from standing.”
“… if you are a member of an under-represented minority, an ethnic minority, or a woman—because the perpetrator will always try to use what is unique or special about you as a person—you are an easy target.”
“The perception that it is acceptable to abuse public figures must end.”
“The criminal justice system must do more to deter anti-democratic offences targeting MPs and candidates. These kinds of crimes are damaging but rare, and as a result the response from local police forces and prosecutors is inconsistent.”
“If we start with just opinions without building up knowledge and understanding, we will have a problem.”
“… we have no faith that the social media companies we have spoken to will address the underlying factors that drive abuse on their platforms unless they are legally obliged to do so.”
“… it is still a real minority of people who are perpetrating this kind of abuse”
“The very people you are trying to reach—the people who have perhaps lost faith in the electoral process, in traditional parties, in the media or in institutions like Parliament—are not people who are going to be particularly receptive to any effort on the part of MPs, the traditional media or even social media companies to intermediate in this process, because they just do not trust those institutions.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗