Councillors Face Surge in Abuse After UK Local Elections

Councillor Shazad Fazal scrolled through Facebook messages hours after his re-election in Calderdale's Park ward, West Yorkshire. The Labour representative, who has served there since 2021, found several congratulations amid his popularity in the area.

But more than 200 posts contained vile abuse. They branded him a paedophile and terrorist, with one asking how many women and children he had sexually assaulted. Posters told the Halifax-born politician to get out of the UK, speak English and called him a cancer who needed deportation.

"I have been involved in politics since the age of 17 and I have never seen anything like this, not in any of my previous elections," Fazal told the BBC.

After he exposed the trolls on his page, mostly men but including some women, he received support from residents, councillors of different parties and Halifax MP Kate Dearden. She said she was "absolutely appalled".

Fazal's experience is not isolated. Councillors of all parties and backgrounds report a significant increase in abuse, both in person and online. Last week's English local elections marked a tipping point for many.

Earlier this week, Labour councillor Yvonne Gagen said she was stepping down as leader of West Lancashire Council because politics had become toxic. "Politics has changed and become quite nasty. I've been spat at in a shop and called a traitor," she said. After 16 years as a councillor, she added, "I don't want to leave local politics, but I don't like the environment any more."

Independent councillor Nosheen Khalid in Birmingham said cyberbullies created AI-generated images of her naked, semi-naked and taking off her hijab during her successful campaign for the Alum Rock seat. "The online abuse was just completely out of this world," she said. She was called the P-word as soon as she started canvassing. "It was the fact that I was a Muslim, attacking my faith, attacking me being a woman."

Councillors in Portsmouth discussed recent abuse at a meeting this week. Pregnant Charlotte Gerada, leader of the local Labour party, said a man swore at her and called her "Labour scum" outside a Tesco. Police and the store are investigating.

Gerada argued Reform UK contributed to a culture where freedom of speech made abuse acceptable. But Reform's George Madgwich said party members had reported heavy abuse online and in person. One received a threat through their front door, others were physically chased and their loved ones targeted.

"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," Madgwich said.

Mike Bird, Conservative leader of Walsall Council until last Friday, lost his seat by seven votes to Reform UK. He called it the worst election he had fought and contacted police over online abuse. After 46 years, he linked harsh criticism to his role in closing Walsall's historic Leather Museum.

"It became a personal vendetta and he accused me of all sorts," Bird said. He never responds to social media abuse. "It really upsets me and my family – everyone reads it and the questions are put to my daughter and my granddaughter. One of the biggest issues in being an elected member is people think you are public property. Social media and politics is brutal."

The Local Government Association's 2025 Debate Not Hate survey found more councillors exposed to high volumes of vitriolic abuse and personal attacks. It said the abuse was pushing them out of public life and harming democratic participation.

Dr Charlotte Galpin, associate professor in German and European politics at the University of Birmingham, said abuse intensified since the 2016 Brexit vote. That vote coincided with toxic, aggressive and hyper-masculine discourse spreading to local politics.

"This behaviour is sanctioned at political level, with the use of aggressive and violent language," she said. Newspapers and legacy media whipped up outrage by inviting comments on negative articles, creating a social media norm. "The legacy media needs those clicks - this means that all of this abuse is monetised."

Galpin's research showed all in public life faced abuse, but black and ethnic minority groups suffered the worst, with women enduring the most deeply dehumanising attacks.

An LGA spokesman said councillors expect scrutiny but behaviours crossing into abuse, harassment and intimidation have no place in democracy and are becoming commonplace. New measures include legislation protecting home addresses and police safety advice, but more is needed.

"We have called on the government to take a much more co-ordinated approach across Whitehall to handle the personal and online abuse that councillors face... and establish consistency of approach in investigating and prosecuting offences against those in public office."

In Calderdale, Fazal noted a significant rise in anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia since Reform's growth. "The language being used in politics and on social media has consequences," he said. "When people in positions of influence use divisive and inflammatory language, it gives others permission to behave in the same way."

Meta said it removed abusive comments from Fazal's page. A spokeswoman noted, "We do not allow hateful conduct on Facebook and Instagram and we remove any language that incites or facilitates serious violence, disable accounts, and work with law enforcement when we believe that there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety."

Fazal expressed real hope after the public's positive response to naming the abusers. "The vast majority of people in Calderdale stand together against hate, and that unity is far stronger than the abuse we have seen," he said. "We are strongest when we stand together, and that is the spirit we must continue to build on."