Toxic politics

Anyone seeking election as a politician can expect to have to argue their case with the electorate, and deal with opposition and criticism. But what happens when that democratic debate turns toxic and politicians face personal abuse, intimidation and threats of violence?

A recent report by the Jo Cox Foundation – named after the murdered British MP – warned that the abuse and intimidation of politicians is a "significant threat to democracy”. With election campaigns being fought in several countries around the world, we bring together politicians in Canada, France and the UK to discuss some of their experiences of public office.

“For me some of the abuse and unpleasantness was really difficult,” Heather Williams, a councillor in the east of England tells host Luke Jones. “I’ve delivered leaflets, and somebody’s come out saying that they wanted to have a gun and pin me up against a wall and shoot me – that’s very scary when you’ve got somebody very angry.”

We also hear from a former senior politician, Catherine McKenna who served in the Canadian government, and her son Matt. They share some of the challenges they faced living family life under the political spotlight.

A Boffin Media Production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

(Photo: Canadian MP Pam Damoff. Credit: Pam Damoff)