Cumberland councillor signed off by GP after abuse from public
Members of Cumberland Council’s standards and governance committee considered the report at a meeting today (20th March)
A Cumberland councillor has been signed off as being unfit for council duties by their GP as a result of abuse and intimidation from members of the public, it has been revealed.
Members of Cumberland Council’s standards and governance committee considered the report at a meeting at Allerdale House in Workington on Friday (March 20) where they were given a member safety awareness update on the work being carried out to keep them safe.
The report states: “This report provides an update on work underway with the Local Government Association (LGA) and police to improve member safety, and the steps which have been taken by Cumberland Council to support this.”
According to the report councillors take decisions on behalf of local residents and champion the issues affecting them which means they are very visible and often easily accessible to residents.
It states: “A real concern for councillors is the increasing levels of intimidation, harassment and abuse they experience in person and on line.”
“Recent examples include three public meetings at which support was required from police and external security due to police intelligence and emails to councillors in advance of the meetings.”
According to the report this included: email, telephone and face to face abuse received by councillors following those meetings; and ‘trolling’ on social media unrelated to the above. It adds: “This resulted in a councillor having to be signed off as unfit for council duties by their GP.
“The LGA has been aware of the concerns for councillors and has been running a campaign for ‘debate not hate’ since 2022.
“Members will recall approving guidance for members on handling harassment, abuse and intimidation, based on the LGA model guidance.
“The aim of the guidance was to provide councillors and councils with practical steps they can follow to decrease the likelihood of experiencing harassment, abuse and intimidation and give them some ideas on how to respond should an incident occur.”
According to the report since the guidance was approved in September 2024, the LGA has continued its campaign and, in 2025, published the results of its survey of councillors.
It states: “Sadly, this found that abuse and intimidation remains rife in public life, with seven in 10 responders experiencing these issues in the previous year and feeling personally at risk.”
The results showed that:
- 11 per cent had had private information made public;
- 64 per cent had experienced abuse online;
- 59 per cent having experienced abuse in person;
- 84 per cent of female responders reported feeling at risk while carrying out councillor duties, compared to 66% of male responders;
- 84 per cent of councillors from an ethnic minority background felt at risk compared with 72 per cent of white respondents;
- women and disabled councillors were more likely to cite abuse and intimidation as a factor in their decision not to run for election again.