Labour’s candidate in Finchley and Golders Green called on Monday for a new offence to outlaw threats against elected figures after the constituency's Tory MP Mike Freer said he would not be standing at the next election.
Sarah Sackman said she was “shocked” at the announcement by the Conservative, who revealed last week that he was being driven out of politics by death threats and an arson attack on his constituency office.
“I haven’t experienced the level of threats that Mike described so powerfully in his letter. But there’s no doubt that we all experience abuse online and there’s the constant threat that that could escalate to something much worse,” the 39-year-old barrister told the Standard.
“We should have been able to face each other at the polls on our policies and merits.”
Mr Freer has held the successor seat to Margaret Thatcher’s constituency, which has a large Jewish community, since 2010. He won by 6,562 votes at the last election in 2019, seeing off a Liberal Democrat challenger after Labour was beset by antisemitism rows under Jeremy Corbyn.
The seat is back in play for Labour given the opposition party’s commanding lead in national polls. In selecting Ms Sackman, it has chosen a prominent local figure who has served as vice chair of the Jewish Labour Movement since 2015.
She described being joined in canvassing by young Jewish activists “who feel that Labour is a safe space” under Sir Keir Starmer.
But she too has received online abuse, especially since Israel’s war with Hamas erupted in Gaza.
“Politicians expect scrutiny, criticism and protest. We go into it with our eyes open. But violent threats and intimidation on any politician represent an attack on our democracy,” the candidate said.
“We should consider buffer zones around political offices and a specific offence for threatening or harming a public figure. We should hold social media giants that platform extremist content to account.”
Ms Sackman said the offence would cover political candidates and those elected to public office, from councillors to MPs, and be similar to legal protections for police and NHS workers.
She added: “The stakes are high, for people like Mike and for anyone willing to speak up on what they believe in. But I am determined for this to change. It is one of the reasons I am standing.”
In response, Mr Freer said he would need to see the detail of Ms Sackman’s proposal and stressed: “My biggest issue is that calls for more security etc address the symptom, not the cause.”
The Home Office has been examining the findings of a review by Lord Walney, the UK government's adviser on political violence and disruption, with concerns again on the rise following protests linked to the war in Gaza and the murders in recent years of MPs Sir David Amess and Jo Cox.
The Government declined to comment on reports that it could introduce a ban on threatening protests outside politicians’ offices.
Rishi Sunak's official spokesman stressed the PM's dismay at the "terrible" experiences endured by Mr Freer. He told reporters: "In general, the Home Office keeps under review safety of MPs all the time and provides significant amount of support to MPs."
