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Hello there, I'm Alicia McCarthy.

Thanks for downloading the yesterday in Parliament podcast for Thursday the 12th of March,

where a security minister warned MPs about the rising tide of harassment and abuse against candidates standing for election.

Millions of people are due to go to the polls in May for elections in England, Wales and Scotland.

But while the candidates may be doing a final spell check on their leaflets and dusting off their rosettes,

the security minister Dan Jarvis was in the Commons outlining the depressingly different preparations

he was making to beef up protectionslining the depressingly different preparations he was making

to beef up protections against the very real risk of intimidation and violence.

Today, the volume, breadth and tempo of threats against elected representatives is unprecedented.

Across this House, colleagues will recognise the grim reality.

Assults, vandalism, stalking, blockading, a blizzard of online abuse.

This is not theoretical.

It affects honourable members, councillors and candidates.

It affects our families and our staff.

The Minister said that the highest levels of abuse were aimed at women and ethnic minorities,

which he said had a chilling effect on who felt able to stand for public office.

So he set out his action plan to protect candidates, including setting up a

new unit to monitor threats of abuse nationwide and target offenders. MPs, including Labour's

Chris Webb, had their own disturbing stories to tell. Unfortunately, since becoming a member of this

house, I've received a barrage of constant threats and death threats from the far right in my constituency, and that seems to be growing.

And this was the Lib Dem, Al Pinkerton.

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