Amid worries about an increase in internet harassment connected to immigration debates, female MPs have claimed to have been raped and received death threats.
One MP is said to have reported to the police an online rape threat linked to her support for asylum seekers.
Others told The Guardian they had received death threats amid the ‘constant’ hostility they encounter.
According to a long-time MP, the abuse that members of Parliament endure on social media and in their email inboxes has gotten worse since the Brexit conflicts.
The use of hotels to host asylum seekers sparked protests throughout Britain this past weekend, and the government is coming under increasing pressure to address the problem.
A blow to ministers came last week when the High Court issued an injunction prohibiting the Home Office from housing asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel in Essex.
Following weeks of demonstrations at the Bell Hotel, the Epping Forest District Council decided to take legal action.
The protests were held after an asylum seeker was charged with attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl, which he denies.
The ruling is threatening to throw Labour’s asylum policy into disarray and has piled pressure on the PM to meet his promise to end the use of migrant hotels by 2029.
Numerous other authorities have started looking into the possibility of bringing legal challenges against asylum hotels after the Epping injunction was obtained.
So far this year, a record 28,076 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats, 46 per cent more than in the same period in 2024.
After demonstrations on Saturday across the UK, which resulted in at least 15 arrests, protests continued outside migrant hotels on Sunday.
Labour’s Tonia Antoniazzi, who has been MP for Gower since 2017, said the current political climate was ‘frighteningly polarised’.
She told the newspaper: ‘The lambasting we are all getting on social media and in the inbox is grim, from both sides.
‘It’s like we can’t do right for doing wrong, and everything has become frighteningly polarised.
‘Very few people see us as the individual humans that we are – especially women, mums, sisters, daughters – and it’s really changed since I came into the House.
‘It’s worse than Brexit. In fact, I could cope with that better.’
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, the MP for Bristol Central, said the abuse she is sent had become ‘noticeably worse’ in the last few months.
She said it was ‘escalating in some cases to violent threats’, which she had reported to the police.
‘As a left-wing and queer woman MP who speaks up frequently in support of refugees and LGBTIQA+ issues, I attract a lot of misogynist and homophobic abuse,’ she said.
‘I wish I was surprised, but sadly it feels inevitable in the current political environment as the far right in the UK and across the world feels more and more emboldened and validated by other political parties dancing to their tune.’
She added: ‘It doesn’t matter how much you disagree with someone, threats of violence are never, ever appropriate. And they won’t silence me.’
Another female MP said: ‘I have received death threats in the last six months.
‘The misogyny and the hate hasn’t really stopped since I was elected, so it always feels like it has been pretty intense and is constant.’
One MP said: ‘I’ve had some pretty unpleasant abuse. One [person] asked recently why I was hosting and supporting child rapists.’
They added that the police had assured them those carrying out the abuse were ‘only a small online community’.
Dan Jarvis, the security minister and chair of the Government’s defending democracy taskforce, said: ‘Vile threats and the intimidation of those who serve in public life is utterly unacceptable.
‘We are absolutely determined to ensure all elected representatives can carry out their democratic duties without suffering harassment, and the defending democracy taskforce works to ensure a whole-of-government response to the threats to our democracy.
‘While there will always be a place for robust debate, there will never be a place for fear in our democracy.’
People don’t feel safe. Women and children don’t feel safe and haven’t done for numerous years due to the inflow of unchecked migrants.
Our UK government are burning the country to the ground, and then they expect sympathy. Newsflash to our politicians – you are not the victims, we are!
For decades, our politicians have treated this nation’s citizens with complete disdain. By permitting unchecked immigration in large numbers against the preferences of the majority, they have negatively impacted our nation, and now they dare to accuse us of racism, xenophobia, and far-right extremism for challenging their policies.
We have seen people being jailed for speaking out. We, the people, need to fight, and MPs should be grateful that the people are not dragging them from their beds by enraged mobs because that’s where we are heading.
Perhaps now our government and MPs know how we feel, you know, the victims!
People are demonstrating because they feel very let down. Demonstrations might seem a bit extreme to some, but it’s just an expression of our frustration. Perhaps if they did what they were elected to do in the first place, people would not feel so inclined to drag MPs from their beds kicking and screaming – and it will happen!
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t condone violence or threats of abuse of any kind, but you have to remember that numerous women across the UK encounter these dangers due to the utter neglect of our government and several former governments.
Even though our government and MPs are ignoring the problem, we are now expected to feel pity for them. If they don’t think things will get worse, they should reconsider.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 