When we talk about the Jo Cox Civility Commission or our work more broadly on respectful politics, we sometimes find ourselves having to clarify what this looks like in practice and why this work is so important. Some people may think that when using the word ‘civility’ or talking about respectful politics, we think that ending political abuse is as simple as being a bit nicer to politicians and refraining from publicly disagreeing with them. However, that’s not the case. We strongly believe that robust debate and scrutiny of decision-making is essential in a healthy democracy. The main aim of our work on the Jo Cox Civility Commission was to find practical ways to tackle the abuse and intimidation of elected representatives, while also preserving the importance of strong political debate. In the run-up to a General Election, this is even more vital.
What we do want to make clear is the severity of abuse and intimidation. At its most serious, abuse on social media takes the form of death threats, threats of sexual violence and threats against family members. But it’s not just on social media. Abuse and intimidation often also manifests in-person, with issues such as destruction of property, stalking, and physical assault.
When explaining exactly what we mean by abuse and intimidation, we use the following definitions from the Local Government Association:
Abuse:
a single act or repeated physical, verbal, or psychological acts that violate an individual’s human and civil rights.
Intimidation:
words and/or behaviour intended or likely to block, influence, or deter participation in public debate or causing alarm or distress which could lead to an individual wanting to withdraw from public life.
These definitions demonstrate the seriousness of this problem and why it’s so important that we take steps to tackle it so that candidates and elected representatives are able to participate in the democratic process safely. Building respectful politics means ending the abuse and intimation that discourages so many from entering political life, and particularly impacts diverse representation.
We also recognise that candidates and elected representatives themselves have an important role to play in setting the tone of debate. The public cares about how candidates behave. In 2022, we found that over half of people said they would be less likely to vote for a political candidate who spoke insultingly about others in the running. That’s why we’ve been encouraging candidates to take the Civility Pledge ahead of this election. An important part of the Pledge is that it asks candidates to commit to behaving with respect towards others, including those that they don’t agree with. With more public debates and hustings events taking place in the days that lead up to the election, we urge candidates to focus on the issues that candidates care about, and not criticising or abusing their opponents.
The recommendations of the Jo Cox Civility Commission also emphasise the importance of civil debate. One area we’ve specifically emphasised is political literacy, and we remain convinced that better political education can lead to better politics in this country. If people understand more about how politics works, and how it can work for them, we can raise the tone of debate, and ultimately all benefit. Jo Cox herself didn’t shy away from political debate, but she also understood that politics is as much about finding allies to achieve common goals as it is about combative debate in the House of Commons.
Abuse and intimidation of our elected representatives – including violence towards them – is one of the biggest threats to our democracy in the UK.
In the run-up to the 2024 General Election on 4 July, we are urging candidates to commit to running a respectful campaign by signing and sharing the Civility Pledge. Through the election and beyond, we are also campaigning for the implementation of our Jo Cox Civility Commission recommendations to ensure abuse has no place in politics.