More than half of the candidates standing in this year’s general election faced abuse, according to a report by the Electoral Commission.

The watchdog said a third of election candidates reported they were intimidated or made to feel unsafe at least once, and more than one in 10 (13%) reported serious threats, abuse or intimidation.

Safeguards were tightened following the murders of MPs Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021 and anyone convicted of intimidation offences relating to elections can be banned from holding elected office for five years.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said some of the incidents seen during the July campaign were “clearly unacceptable”.

There were reports of abuse from candidates including slashing tyres, throwing milkshakes and targeting candidates’ families.

The 2024 general election was the first where all 4,515 candidates were offered basic security and had access to a named police officer during the campaign and guidance on respectful campaigning was updated.

Despite this, a survey responded to by 717 candidates found nearly half (46%) reported harassment, intimidation or threats in person as they knocked on doors asking people to vote for them, and a quarter (23%) at a campaign event.

And there is also a growing issue with online abuse, reported by two-thirds of candidates who responded, and the watchdog is also calling for improved online protections.

The Electoral Commission is calling for tougher penalties for criminal acts, tighter political party membership rules, including potential deselection, and a review of whether to bring in secure campaigning zones.

The chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Vijay Rangarajan, said these “crucial improvements” must be put in place ahead of the 2026 Welsh and Scottish elections, and the next UK general election.

He said: “The level of harassment and intimidation faced by candidates is particularly concerning, and requires urgent and coordinated action.

“Those standing for public office should not be subjected to abuse.

“It is deterring some people from standing to be candidates, and inhibiting how some engage with voters – both of which risk weakening our robust democratic debate.”

In particular, Mr Rangarajan said he was concerned at unacceptable levels of intimidation and harassment directed at women and candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Women were twice as likely to report serious abuse as men, with one in five (20%) women compared to one in 10 (11%) men.

Ethnic minorities were more than three times likely to report serious abuse as white people, with 34% reporting this compared to 11% of white people.

Abuse and intimidation can have a significant impact on candidates’ campaign activity, the report added, with 66% of female respondents saying they avoided campaigning alone due to a fear of abuse.

The commission also spoke to four women who had campaigned to become an MP during the general election about their experience, and also took written evidence from MPs and political parties.

They reported a clear feeling they were targeted because of their gender and they were also were more likely than male candidates to report being touched, hugged, or kissed against their will.

One English woman aged 45-54 years old, reported how “full-on” and “really abusive males” would swear at her, which made her stop knocking on doors to speak to people face-to-face.

Instead, she said she would only post leaflets and her husband did most of the door-knocking because “as a male he had a better rapport”.

She added: “I still think that it’s incredibly sad because they obviously don’t respond to a female wanting to put themselves forward.”

Another English woman in the same age bracket reported being touched against her will and threats of harm, amongst other abuse, and said she thought “women bear the brunt of this because we’re perceived as an easier target to convince not to [run]”.

There was also a perception that there was “no point” reporting abuse to the police, and only one in five (21%) of the cases of abuse logged with the watchdog were reported to the police.

The Electoral Commission report focused on July’s general election for the section related to abuse of candidates, but the wider report on findings on voting and online systems also took in findings from the May 2024 Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales, as well as local and mayoral elections in England.