MPs and political candidates face ‘industrial’ levels of abuse, minister says | Politics

MPs and political candidates are facing “industrial” levels of intimidation and harassment, a minister has warned, as the government outlines plans for stricter punishments for those found guilty of abuse.

Rushanara Ali, the minister for democracy, said her colleagues were suffering worse harassment than ever before and warned this was deterring many young people from becoming politically active.

With two MPs having been killed in recent years and multiple candidates saying they were harassed during last year’s election campaign, the government says it is acting before further acts of violence are committed.

“In the time that I’ve been an MP, we’ve lost colleagues – my friend Jo Cox, Sir David Amess,” Ali said. “We also had the horrific situation of Stephen Timms being…