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One in 10 councils surveyed had a councillor who had stepped down in their authority since May 2021 due to the requirement for them to attend council meetings in-person.

The number of local councillors who have reported feeling at risk in their role due to rising levels of abuse and intimidation has increased to a new high in the last year.

We are pleased that locally elected representatives will have dedicated police support for security matters for the first time. This is something we have long called for.

"Councils work incredibly hard to support asylum and resettlement and have helped communities welcome around 200,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war two years ago."

The LGA has joined forces with the Electoral Commission and the Jo Cox Foundation to call for no abuse towards candidates at this set of local elections.

Hotels have already begun to close to Afghan households across the country and - as we feared - councils are already seeing families presenting to them as homeless as a result.

A new survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that over a fifth of councillors have received a death threat or a threat of violence (22 per cent) due to their role*, whilst 23 per cent of councillors have suffered abuse serious enough to report to the police. The survey is part of the LGA’s Debate Not Hate Campaign. Around half of respondents (49 per cent) said they felt the abuse had got worse over the past 12 months, and 73 per cent of councillors experienced abuse or intimidation in their role in the past year. Released as the LGA prepares to host its Annual Conference next

“We look forward to collaborating with the Office for Veterans Affairs and the MoD on a service model that recognises the expertise already in place across local government."

“In-person attendance remains important, but it must be balanced against the advantages remote attendance can provide in removing barriers to participating in the democratic process."

A new survey by the LGA has found that 52 per cent of councillors have experienced misinformation about them published, with 7 in 10 saying they had experienced abuse in the last year.