Latest Press Releases
For media enquiries, please contact:
Virginia Gibbons, Head of Communications
T: 020 7438 1225
M: 07812 765552
comms@hansardsociety.org.uk
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Audit
of Political Engagement 10
The 2013 Hansard Society annual Audit
of Political Engagement 10, published May 15, shows that the public are so
disillusioned, disenchanted and disengaged from politics that:
- Just
41% of the public say they are certain to vote in the event of a general
election, compared to 48% last year and 58% two years ago.
- The
public’s propensity to vote is now the lowest ever recorded in the Audit
series.
- Only
12% of 18-24 year olds say they are absolutely certain to vote – compared
to 22% last year and 30% two years ago.
- 20%
of the public say they are ‘absolutely certain not to vote’ - compared to 16% last year and double the
number who said the same two years ago (10%).
- Only
42% of the public say they would vote in an election in the future ‘if they felt strongly
enough about an issue’; that 58% of people are still not prepared to vote
even if they feel strongly, suggests serious disillusionment with the efficacy
of voting.
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Under-18s debate the impact
of the internet on them and on wider society
Monday 29 April -
Friday 17 May 2013
Headsup.org.uk
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A new Hansard Society
report points the way forward
The
landscape of print, broadcasting and social media is changing rapidly and how
it alters affects Parliament’s ability to communicate and engage with the
public it serves. A new report from
the Hansard Society – #futurenews:
The Communication of Parliamentary Democracy in a Digital World – explores these strategic communication trends and how
Parliament needs to respond in order
to keep pace and ensure it has a voice in the political debate commensurate
with its role at the apex of our democracy.
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90% of
bank CEOs are men
Two thirds of public appointments go to men
Almost 90% of chief constables and police & crime commissioners
are men
Two thirds of local councillors
are men
Sex
and Power 2013: Who Runs Britain?
-
Under-18s debate gender and power with politicians
4-22 March 2013
Headsup.org.uk
Why is there still a pay gap between men and women? Why are
there so few female MPs? Why are the top jobs in business and the media
dominated by men?
From Monday 4 March the HeadsUp
forum – Should more women be in
charge? – will be open for
under-18s to debate with politicians and key decision-makers what is holding
women back from reaching the top of their professions.
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Public perception
of Parliament’s effectiveness shows signs of improvement, says new Hansard
Society research
On the day
the House of Commons debates the effectiveness of select committees (Jan 31, 2013), initial
results from the Hansard Society’s 2013
Audit of Political Engagement 10 demonstrate
some interesting improvements in the public’s perception of Parliament over the
course of the last year.
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A new Hansard Society briefing paper, Assembly Line?
The Experiences and Development of new Assembly Members, examines how
AMs newly elected in 2011 have made the transition from members of the public
to elected representatives of the National Assembly for
Wales.
Evidence from the study shows:
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Politician of the Year – Political Studies Association
Awards 2012
The Speaker and Hansard Society Co-President Rt Hon John
Bercow MP was awarded Politician of the Year by the PSA. The judges explained their
decision as follows:
‘Bercow has had a
tremendous impact since the position became his in June 2009, consistently holding
the Executive to account. During this time, there has been a shift in the way
in which the House operates and his impact can be highlighted by the central
role he has played in reforming
Parliament in the wake of the expenses scandal. He is a deserved recipient if
the Politician of the Year Award.’’
The PSA added:
‘In addition to his
role following the expenses scandal, Bercow’s calls for
House reform have expressed his
desire for increased transparency,
greater numbers of women and minorities
in Parliament, more powers for Select Committees, as well as measures to help
Parliament – not Government – set the agenda.’
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Under-18s
debate transport issues with
politicians
26
November - 14 December 2012
Headsup.org.uk
Are
fares for young people fair? Should money be spent on large-scale transport
projects or invested locally? Are young people properly consulted on this
issue?
From
Monday 26 November the HeadsUp forum
- Transport:
paying too much for too little?
- will be open for
under-18s to debate transport issues
with key decision-makers in this area. Taking part are MPs and peers from across
the political spectrum, as well as key individuals from national and
international transport organisations.
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In July, the Society was
delighted to pick up a shiny new award at the prestigious Nominet Internet
Awards for our work on Lords
of the Blog.
The awards celebrate the achievements and innovations of UK internet
initiatives across a range of categories,
with the Lords of the Blog team
proudly taking home the award for
best 'Online public services & information'
project.
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But
tabloids do little to advance political engagement of their readers
The
Hansard Society’s latest Audit
of Political Engagement report
(published Thursday July 12) shows that public satisfaction with media reporting of politics has risen: 45% claim to be
satisfied compared to just 38% who said the same two years ago. But two thirds
of the public perceive the coverage of politics in the tabloid media to be far
more negative and distorting in its portrayal
of politics and politicians than in all other media outlets. Notably, tabloid
readers themselves strongly agree with this negative view of their own
newspapers of choice.
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Lords of the Blog, has been shortlisted for the Nominet Internet Awards 2012, which showcase projects from UK businesses, charities, individuals and public and private sector organisations which help to make the internet a more secure, open, accessible and diverse experience for all.
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11-18 year-olds are currently debating
the values, legacy and commercial aspects of the Olympics and Paralympics
18
June - 6 July 2012
HeadsUp.org.uk
What
do young people think about the Olympic and Paralympic Games? Have they noticed
the effects of the Olympics in their area? Have they been inspired to do more sport? What do they think will be the legacy of the
Games? For the next three weeks,
under-18s will be debating all aspects of the Olympics with decision-makers
online.
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www.headsup.org.uk
Young people (11-18 year olds)
taking part in the latest HeadsUp forum,
What
makes society work well? voiced enthusiastic support for
volunteering, arguing that if under-18s had more
to do and a greater stake in society, they would be less likely to get into
trouble.
The What
makes society work well?
debate ran from 30 April to 18 May 2012 and discussed their views on ‘broken Britain', the role of Government in supporting society and whether young people should
volunteer more in their local
communities. The full report of the
forum is available here.
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A new
Briefing Paper What
Next for E-Petitions? published today by the Hansard Society examines
the problems with the current e-petitions system and calls for Parliament to take over ownership and
responsibility for e-petitions from
the government. It also calls for
the House of Commons to establish a new Petitions Committee to deal with public
petitions in the future.
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Disgruntled, disillusioned and disengaged. New Hansard Society research shows people are turning away from national politics
The 2012 Hansard Society annual Audit of Political Engagement, published on April 25, shows that the public’s growing sense of indifference to politics as highlighted in last year’s Audit has hardened into something more serious as public attitudes become more negative.
Download here
Click here to listen to the launch event in full
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You and Society: What Makes Society Work Well?
11-18 year-olds to have their say on the Big Society,
Britishness and Societal Breakdown
30 April - 18 May 2012
HeadsUp.org.uk
What do young people think about the society they live in? Do they feel included? How can they help to improve their local communities? From 30 April, under-18s will be debating all aspects of British society with decision-makers online.
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Hansard Society does not receive donations from House of Lords, House of Commons, the Speaker, BBC Parliament or any government department
Statement from Fiona Booth, Chief Executive of the Hansard Society - April 14, 2012
‘Incorrect information on social media sites today alleges that the Hansard Society charges £8,000 for work experience internships. This is incorrect. For 20 years we have run an academic study programme aimed at understanding of the British political system. Hundreds of undergraduates and post-graduate students from around the world have participated in our Hansard Scholars Programme, which involves a study course in association with a leading university and internships with relevant NGOs, Parliament and other organisations. Interns do not work at the Hansard Society.
The cost for this 11-week academic programme includes all academic tuition and student fees, accommodation in central London and unlimited travel by tube and bus in central London, plus visits to the devolved legislatures and many other activities. The Hansard Society is accredited by the British Accreditation Council and is a member of StudyUK. Further information about this programme is available on our website (www.hansardsociety.org.uk)
The Hansard Society does not receive donations from the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the Speaker, BBC Parliament or any government department. We have funded project work – full details of which can be found in our audited accounts available on our website.’
For further information, contact comms@hansardsociety.org.uk or 07812 765 552
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Young
People (11-18 year olds) taking part in the first HeadsUp forum of 2012, What
makes a good family? firmly believed
that when it comes to adoption, the wishes of the child should be taken into
account where possible.
The
What makes a good family? debate ran
from 5 -23 March and attracted the fourth highest number of students since the
site began in 2004, with the highest number of this school year. The forum
covered a wide range of issues from who should be allowed to adopt and gay
marriage to the level of help families should expect to get from the government
and changes to the Child Support
Agency. You can read the full
report of the forum here.
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11-18 year-olds and
politicians to discuss family values, child poverty and adoption
Monday 5 March -
Friday 23 March
HeadsUp.org.uk
Under-18s
will be making their views known direct to politicians on HeadsUp in a three-week online debate
about families in March.
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UK Parliament compares well with
legislatures around the world but
can still learn from good practice elsewhere
A
new report from the Hansard Society,
Parliaments and Public Engagement: Innovation and
Good Practice from Around the World, published today, reveals that the Westminster Parliament is
one of the more innovative parliamentary
institutions when it comes to engaging the public with its work but that there is still much it can learn from
good practice in other countries.
-
www.headsup.org.uk
Young
people taking part in the HeadsUp forum
- The Media...is it
doing its job? felt that excessive media intrusion into the private
lives of celebrities was unacceptable, particularly when it involved their
children and families.
The
debate - The Media...is it
doing its job? - ran from November 21 to December 9, 2011. This was particularly opportune timing as the Leveson Inquiry was taking evidence
throughout this period from celebrities familiar to young people such as JK
Rowling and Charlotte Church. Many11-18 year-olds taking part in the HeadsUp forum expressed their support
for celebrities who want to protect
their privacy:
‘Celebrities
should be able to keep their private photos a secret. They can't enjoy a day at
the beach without the press watching their every move'
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Dr. Ruth Fox, the Hansard Society's Director of the Parliament and Government Programme has written a piece for The Huffington Post about Europe. It is titled: Europe: Adding a Democratic Crisis to an Economic One? Dr. Fox wrote,
"Britain may have wielded its first ever veto in defence of the financial institutions in the City of London last week but an even bigger national, indeed universal interest, was also at stake: the very concept of parliamentary democracy itself."
To read more please click here.
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11-18 year-olds to have their say on press freedom,
the recent hacking scandal and the effects of
digital media
21 November - 9 December 2011
HeadsUp.org.uk
HeadsUp is an online forum for
young people to explore political issues and learn about politics through
debate with their peers and politicians. HeadsUp provides a direct line to
politicians, allowing students to get their views across to real decision-makers
and is a safe, moderated space that can be used by teachers as a resource for
the teaching of Citizenship or PSHE.
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Lords of the Blog
Writing on Lords of the Blog today, Lord Sugar calls on his fellow peers to break down barriers with the public by using social media as a part of everyday political life:
‘Social media means that people can have direct access to me as a Lord and as a businessman. Individuals, campaigning groups and external organisations should be able to contact us and, on some occasions, put us on the spot in public forums for the decisions we take on their behalf......The way I use social media means there are no barriers between me and the public.
‘We should be looking at the best way to break down barriers between the House of Lords and what happens in people's everyday lives; we need to get the message across that what happens in our House actually affects what happens in their house.'
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New vision which puts citizen and visitor at its heart is needed says new report from the Hansard Society
A new report from the Hansard Society - A Place for People – Proposals for Enhancing Visitor Engagement with Parliament’s Environs - exploring how better use can be made of the Westminster World Heritage Site and Parliament Square concludes that rather than a place of national pride this landmark area is a national disgrace.
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www.headsup.org.uk
Seventy-one per cent of 11-18 year-olds taking part in the first HeadsUp forum of the new school year, How equal is Britain? thought that inequality was either mostly or partly to blame for the riots in English cities this year.
The How equal is Britain? debate, running from September 26 - October 14, attracted a record number of comments from young people. The forum covered a variety of issues ranging from the role of inequality in the recent riots to equal representation in Parliament and sexism in sport. You can read the full report of the debate here.
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11-18 year-olds to discuss the recent riots, and equality
of opportunity in education, sport and youth employment
26 September - 14 October 2011
HeadsUp.org.uk
HeadsUp is an online forum for young people to
explore political issues and learn about politics through debate with their
peers and politicians. HeadsUp provides a direct line to politicians, allowing
students to get their views across to real decision-makers, and talk about the
political issues that are important to them.
The first debate of the
school term will be ‘How equal is Britain?' and is supported by
comprehensive BackUp information for students and Teachers' notes to help plan lessons around the debate
topic.
The three-week debate is happening online from Monday 26 September to Friday 14 October 2011 and all of the comments by
the legislators and forum users can be viewed throughout the three weeks
without registration. The
following decision-makers are getting involved, with more to be confirmed soon:
- Caroline Lucas, Leader of the Green Party
- Siobahn McMahon MSP, Member of the Equal Opportunities Committee
- Ian Mearns MP, Member of the Education Committee;
- Baroness Morris, Former Secretary of State
for Education.
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Connecting Citizens to Parliament - research from the Hansard Society published
today - demonstrates that half the public (52%) are not really interested in
Parliament and do not want to be involved in what it does.
The research explores which
communities and social groups are not engaging with Parliament, why and how
this might be redressed. It concludes that connecting with ‘hard to reach'
groups cannot be achieved by a sudden radical change of approach, but demands a
number of smaller cumulative step-changes, many of which Parliament can
initiate or suggest but cannot necessarily lead.
The Connecting
Citizens to Parliament research is based on a quantitative survey of
2,005 adults and five qualitative semi-structured focus groups. It confirms that
social class and age are the strongest determining factors for engagement.
Barriers to engagement include:
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Has Twitter changed the world?
Social media and Scottish politics
Thursday August 25
1.30
- 2.30pm Room P1.02
Scottish
Parliament, Holyrood Road
This
event is free to attend
(Registration
required at www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk
)
This
year's Festival of Politics in Edinburgh
runs from 20 - 27 August and presents a diverse programme of events bringing
together politics, media and the arts through performance, discussion and
debate. One theme of this year's
Festival is an exploration of how technological and cultural revolutions are
influencing politics in an increasingly transparent and interactive world. The Hansard Society will be hosting an event
which will consider whether the use of Twitter (and other social media) by
participants in events such as the Arab spring has lessons for parliamentary
democracies like Scotland.
Chair:
- Lesley
Riddoch - journalist and
broadcaster
Speakers:
- Andy Williamson
- Hansard Society Director of Digital Democracy,
- Peter
Cruickshank - Research Fellow, International Teledemocracy Centre, Edinburgh Napier University.
- Joan McAlpine
MSP - SNP
- Kezia Dugdale
MSP - Scottish Labour
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A well-designed
process will help public engage with work of Parliament
Today's announcement
by Sir George Young MP, Leader of the House, that a new petitions site will be
opened on DirectGov is welcomed by the Hansard Society which has long
campaigned for the Westminster Parliament to initiate an e-Petitions system to
help revitalise public engagement with Parliament.
Dr Andy
Williamson, Director of the Hansard Society's Digital Democracy programme
commented: ‘The ePetitions proposal is a
very realistic step forward using methods and process that increase the
opportunity for the public to propose subjects for parliamentary debate and
enhance the role of the Backbench Business Committee to take relevant petitions
forward.
‘The value
of the proposed system is that it contains an underlying process which
guarantees an authentic and considered response to the concerns raised in the
petition in contrast to the now defunct Downing Street venture which offered
no parliamentary response. The examples
in Scotland and Wales
prove that an ePetitions system can be an effective way to update the procedure
to bring it into line with the way modern society thinks, works and
communicates. The Hansard Society's Audit
of Political Engagement consistently tells us that signing a petition is
the democratic activity people are most likely to do other than vote. Petitions
matter as a potential on-ramp to democratic re-engagement.'
For further
information, contact Virginia Gibbons, Head of Communications at the
Hansard Society on 020 7438 1225 or mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk
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Essential reading for
anyone interested in contemporary politics
Discounted
rate for Hansard Society members
The summer
issue of Parliamentary Affairs (July 2011) contains a variety of
articles including an examination of the antecedents of the Big Society, a
survey of ideological tendencies among Conservative Party members and an
analysis of legislative committee activity in the Scottish Parliament .
As well as
abstracts from the articles (see Editor's Notes), Parliamentary
Affairs podcasts are also available. These are interviews with
the authors designed to explore themes from their work. The podcasts are
between 10 and 15 minutes long, and designed to inform researchers and to serve
as teaching tools to stimulate discussion amongst students.
Parliamentary
Affairs is a
long-established quarterly journal published by Oxford University Press in
association with the Hansard Society. Individual subscriptions to Parliamentary Affairs cost £62 a year
but if you become a member of the Hansard Society for £60 a year, included
within this cost is a special reduced subscription to Parliamentary Affairs for just £25 a year.
Become a member
of the Hansard Society (£60 a year) and receive a reduced subscription
rate to Parliamentary Affairs
included within this cost.
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Political
literacy and digital media are key to engagement
Parliament
2020: Visioning the Future Parliament - international research from the
Hansard Society published today - demonstrates that effective political
literacy education and greater use of digital media are priorities to bridge
the gap between elected representatives and the public.
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A new
Digital Paper, Gender
and Digital Politics, published today by the Hansard Society, examines
the online political participation of women and men and concludes that the
gender imbalance online is the result of wider political exclusion, not digital
exclusion.
Gender
and Digital Politics
examines overall levels of internet access and activity and finds generally
similar levels across the genders. However, when it comes to more active online
political participation, such as writing blog posts or commenting on blogs, the
figures are usually male dominated:
-85% of political media blogs
are by men
-93% of councillors' blogs are
by men
-85% of individual blogs in
Total Politics Political Blog Awards 2010 were written by men
-79% of blog posts and 90% of
comments on Lib Dem Voice blog (to November 2010) were written by men
Tuesday
June 28, 5pm - 6.30pm, Queen's Robing Room, House of Lords
The Hansard
Society is hosting the first ever Lord Speaker Hustings on Tuesday, June 28
between 5pm-6.30pm in Queen's Robing Room, House of Lords. This event has been
planned in respect of the election of a new Lord Speaker after Baroness Hayman
announced her intention not to seek re-election in May 2011.
The Hustings will
be chaired by Rt Hon Peter Riddell, Chair of the Hansard Society. Participants
in the Lord Speaker Hustings are:
- Lord
Colwyn
- Professor
Lord Desai
- Rt
Hon Baroness D'Souza
- Rt
Hon Lord Goodlad
- Baroness
Harris of Richmond
A new Hansard Society briefing paper, A Year
in the Life: from member of public to Member of Parliament, finds long
working hours and the competing demands of Westminster and constituency are proving
detrimental to the family life of new MPs - yet despite this, most aspire to
make politics a long-term career.
Evidence from the A Year in the Life study shows:
• The 2010 new intake of MPs initially expected a 60-hour week (plus eight hours travel) but six months on were working a 69- hour week;
•They split their working time 63% in Westminster and 37% in their constituencies - but constituency casework takes up the largest share of their time (28%), followed by constituency meetings/events (21%) and the Commons Chamber (21%);
•A vast number of the new intake report that long working hours and Westminster/constituency demands have a detrimental effect on their personal and family lives - comments such as ‘overwhelming', ‘devastating' and ‘a struggle' are common;
•Over half of new MPs (56%) took a salary cut on becoming an MP.
Get
a free copy of EU Explained from the
Hansard Society
EU
Explained
is the Hansard Society's new teaching resource on the European Union and it is
now available to teachers for free.
Developed with the
support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, EU Explained helps teachers to give their students a greater
awareness about how the EU operates, the impact it has on the UK and how they
can seek to influence the decisions made there.
In addition to
quizzes, timelines and a history of the EU, role play activities give students
the opportunity to see how the EU works and decide what they do and do not like!
To order copies of the pack contact
citizenship@hansard.lse.ac.uk
A commitment to equality was
firmly established as a key principle when the Scottish Parliament and the
National Assembly for Wales
were founded over a decade ago. In
the intervening years both became
international beacons of progress in establishing higher levels of
representation for women in politics.
But today's election results
confirm what the Hansard Society warned of a year ago in its report, ‘Has
Devolution Delivered For Women'.
- The number of women in the next Assembly has
declined to 25 AMs (41.7%) - the lowest number of female AMs since the first
Assembly elections in 1999;
- The number of women in the next Scottish
Parliament has only marginally improved to 46 MSPs (35.6%)
Young people to debate health issues with leading politicians and doctors
HeadsUp forum runs from 9-27 May 2011
- make sure the young people you know have their say
Should we take more responsibility for illnesses that we have brought on ourselves and pay extra for treatment? Should the government be doing more to encourage us to change bad habits through taxation or banning advertising? How easy is it to prevent people from drinking, eating or smoking to excess?
These are some of the questions that 11-18 year olds will be debating with important decision-makers in the next HeadsUp forum - "Our health...who is responsible?"
Key areas for debate include:
- Who is responsible for our health? – Should the government save us from ourselves when it comes to unhealthy lifestyles? Should there be more regulation around alcohol, smoking and junk food? Do you listen to advice about healthy lifestyles or do you ignore it?
- Do you know enough about mental health? – Do you think there is enough help and information for teenagers suffering from things like self-harm or eating disorders? How can the NHS improve its teenage mental health services? Do you need more information about how to deal with the stresses and anxieties of being a teenager?
- Which treatments should be provided on the NHS? – Should people who have led unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking, have to pay more towards treatment? Should non-essential treatment like IVF or gastric bands be paid for on the NHS in a time of cuts? Should we spend more money on trying to prevent ill health by educating people about lifestyle choices?
- Alcohol, drugs and smoking – Do you listen to advice from your teachers or parents about the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs? Should there be a minimum price for a unit of alcohol to stop binge drinking? What do you think of the government's plans to stop cigarette brands being displayed in shops?
Anne Milton MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, is taking part in the forum and she had this message for the young people getting involved:
‘Since becoming the Minister responsible for Public Health, I have stressed the importance of young people's health to achieving the Government's aim of a healthier future for this country. We can do this by encouraging healthy choices and lifestyles and providing a particular focus on the most vulnerable… This is a great chance for me to hear the views of young people on the future of health services generated by this fantastic on-line forum.’
Other decision-makers getting involved include:
Lord Patel, a Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
Professor Mitch Blair, Officer for Health Promotion at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Dr John Coleman, Chair of the Young People's Health Association.
Other decision-makers will be added soon.
There are student background materials available, to ensure the debate is well-informed, [click here] and notes for teachers to help them prepare their students in advance of the forum[click here].
Anyone can view the debate as it happens [visit this link from Monday May 9] although only under 18s and supporting teachers/youth workers can comment. A report of the forum and the key themes of the discussions will be sent to relevant decision-makers, once the debate is finished, to improve their understanding of young people’s views on health issues.
For further information contact Beccy Allen, HeadsUp Project Manager, 020 7438 1214
Editors' Notes
- HeadsUp (http://www.headsup.org.uk/ ) is an innovative website where 11-18 year olds debate political issues and learn about the political process. The site is a non-partisan, cross-party educational resource that provides a secure, structured and student-centred discussion platform.
- Two ways to register to participate in HeadsUp:
Young People - If you are under 18 and want to get in on the action you need to complete the Student Sign Up Form.
Teachers/youth workers - can register a whole class/school year/group by completing our Teachers Registration Form.
- All HeadsUp forums are open to be viewed and the debate followed by the public. Participants need to register or login to post comments (under 18s and supporting teachers/youth workers only).
- The project is part-funded by the House of Commons.
- There are currently 1,155 schools registered with HeadsUp.
but international backing is important
www.headsup.org.uk
Over one hundred 11-18 year-olds took part in the HeadsUp
online forum, Foreign Affairs...Are we
making a difference? The forum took
place from 7 March - 25 March and
covered these issues; International
Aid, Conflict in Afghanistan,
Nuclear Weapons, Our Allies.
You can read the full
report of the debate here.
Most young
people taking part in the discussion believed that the UK
should intervene to help the rebels in Libya as students added their
comments to the debate as the crisis was unfolding:
"the ultimate idea will save the lives of
many Lybians, and that is our human commitment, to help protect our and one
anothers rights, especially the right to life and freedom to live freely".
However, many young people felt that the UK should have international support before embarking
on any kind of military campaign in Libya:
Willingness to get involved locally poses
challenge for Big Society: only one in 10 people will ‘definitely' volunteer
The
2011 Hansard Society annual Audit
of Political Engagement, published March 30, shows that while last
year's momentous political events increased the public's interest in politics
to a record 58%, there was no matching rise in political or civic activity. Beyond voting, people were no more likely
to get involved or participate in politics than they are in non-election years.
- 58% claim to be interested in
politics (5% increase)
- 53% claim to be ‘knowledgeable' about politics (2% increase)
Unique blog is three years old
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Lords of the
Blog, the cross-party blog where members of the House of Lords write on
their specialist areas, connect with the public and talk about life and work in
the House, is marking its third anniversary on Wednesday 16 March.
Lords of the
Blog was launched in March 2008 as an experimental project to raise
awareness and create a space for dialogue with the public on issues relating to
the role and business of the House of Lords. The project proved very popular
with the public and has gone from strength to strength. It is now read all over the
world, from Canada to India and has been covered by the media in Australia, the USA,
New Zealand and Germany.
Twelve
bloggers write regularly on a range of topical subjects and offer first-hand
insight into their work in the House of Lords. The
bloggers are a mixture of members who have been with the project since the
beginning, some newer recruits and a number of occasional guest bloggers,
including the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman.
An event will be held at the House of Lords to mark
the anniversary and to discuss the political blogging landscape. Members of the
public - who regularly comment on Lords of the Blog - will be attending, to
share their thoughts on the project with the Peers who blog. Paul Waugh, Editor of PoliticsHome will give a short speech about his
views on political blogging and will also chair a discussion on the future of Lords
of the Blog.
Lord Soley and Lord
Norton of Louth, both original contributors, will discuss
their experiences of the project and how they got to grips with blogging.
Journalists are welcome to attend. Contact Gillian
Reeves at the Hansard Society on g.reeves@hansard.lse.ac.uk
or 020 7438 1222
No female MPs on vital Cabinet Committees
Ahead of this afternoon’s backbench business debate to mark international women’s day, the Hansard Society has compiled a Briefing Paper, Women at the Top 2011: Politics and public life in the UK highlighting some current issues and statistics.
Key facts include:
• The machinery of government has been reorganised by the Coalition government but there are no women on the new Coalition Committee or the Coalition Operation & Strategic Planning Group
• Of 184 Cabinet Committee and Sub-Committee seats, just 32 are occupied by women
• There are no women at all on the Economic Affairs Committee, the Banking Reform Committee and the Public Expenditure Committee
Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society’s Parliament & Government programme and joint author of Women at the Top 2011: Politics and public life, commented:
‘When the country is facing enormous economic challenges it is very worrying that women are completely absent from the Cabinet committees that are making vital decisions about economic and banking reform and public expenditure. How the economy is shaped for the future will impact on the lives of women across the country yet the voice of women is not being heard around the decision-making table.’
Hansard Society
Democracy Forum: Politics versus Young People
Wednesday,
March 16, 6.30pm, Grand Committee Room, Parliament, Westminster
The latest in the Hansard Society's
Democracy
Forum series Politics Versus
Young People will see an expert panel debate a wide variety of ...
Editorship of Parliamentary Affairs: Call for
Applications
The Hansard Society is seeking to
recruit a new editor(s) for its journal, Parliamentary Affairs. Founded
in 1947, Parliamentary Affairs is a peer-reviewed academic quarterly
journal of representative politics covering all aspects of politics and
government directly or indirectly connected with Parliament and parliamentary
systems in Britain
and throughout the world.
It has a long-standing reputation
for providing well-written, non-technical surveys of developments in politics
and government that are accessible to a broad range of audiences including
specialist researchers, practitioners, politics students and teachers as well
as readers with a general interest in British and comparative politics.
The editorship provides a unique
opportunity for an academic(s) to work collaboratively with the Hansard Society
and Oxford Journals to develop this highly regarded journal in the future,
particularly focusing on its commitment to reach beyond the boundaries of
academia to engage more widely with those working in and interested in
politics, Parliament and the democratic process nationally and internationally.
The deadline for applications
is noon on Friday 15 April 2011.
Applicants will be informed as to
whether they are to be shortlisted for interview by Friday 6 May.
Interviews will take place on
Monday 16 May in Oxford.
For further information and details
about how to apply, download the Call for Editors.
Young people to debate foreign affairs policy with MPs
make sure the young people you know have their say
HeadsUp
forum live from 7 March - 25 March 2011
...
A new
Digital Paper, Digital
Democracy in Scotland and Wales: Lagging or Leading?, published today
by the Hansard Society, examines digital democracy initiatives in the devolved
legislatures and concludes that, while more needs to be done to bring about
two-way interactivity between the public and those who represent them, the
Westminster Parliament can learn from the ePetitioning processes in place in
the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
January issue of Parliamentary Affairs
Discounted
rate for Hansard Society members
In the January 2011 issue of Parliamentary Affairs,
Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government
programme suggests that the former international beacons of progress for the
representation of women, Scotland and Wales, are at serious risk of regression if positive action isn't implemented.
In her article, ‘Boom and Bust' in Women's
Representation: Lessons to be Learnt from a Decade of Devolution, Dr Fox
analyses the history of women's representation in the devolved legislatures,
arguing that a commitment to the principles of equality coupled with a
‘blank-slate' approach and an alternative electoral system produced the
impressive results of 2003. However, the downward drift in women's
representation seen in 2007 and the Labour Party and Plaid Cymru's recent
retreat from previous strong positions on gender balance suggests that the
situation will continue to worsen in 2011.
Dr Fox contests that in order to reverse this trend, the
women's movement must unite and re-energise to ensure that the significant
progress made since devolution is not lost. Advocating positive action for
women's representation and a reappraisal of the media's objectification of
women, Dr Fox's article highlights the new measures that are necessary to
ensure the high level of women's representation in the devolved legislatures
remains.
For further information, contact Virginia Gibbons, Head of
Communications at the Hansard Society on mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk or
020 7438 1225
Editors Notes
- Parliamentary
Affairs is a long-established journal published by Oxford University
Press in association with the Hansard Society. Individual subscriptions
cost £62 a year; special reduced subscriptions for Hansard Society
subscription members cost £25 a year.
- Become
a member of the Hansard Society and receive a reduced subscription
rate.
- Individual
subscriptions cost £62 a year from jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org
or Journals Customer Service Department, Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP.
- Other articles in this
edition of the Journal include:
Simulating the Effects of the Alternative Vote in the 2010 UK General
Election - David Sanders, Harold D.
Clarke, Marianne C. Stewart and Paul Whiteley
Britain's First Live Televised Party Leaders' Debate: From the
News Cycle to the Political Information Cycle - Andrew Chadwick
Political Conduct and Misconduct: Probing Public Opinion - Nicholas Allen and Sarah Birch
Answering Questions in Parliament During Budget Debates:
Deliberative Reciprocity and Globalisation in Western
Europe - Hans Agné
Young people need to
learn about their democracy
Responding
to today's government announcement of a review of the National Curriculum in England,
Michael Raftery, Director of the Hansard Society's Citizenship
Education programme, commented:
‘Educating
young people about how politics works and involving them in democracy, the
central ambition of Citizenship,
supports one of the principals of the review - that of providing pupils with the knowledge
and understanding that enables them to take their place as educated members of
society.
'The
Hansard Society hopes the results of the review reflect the contribution
made by teachers in delivering the Democracy and Justice strand of the Citizenship curriculum and improving young people's
political literacy. There is much work to do in making Citizenship
more effective in a greater number of schools. It would be a huge blow to the political
culture of the UK
if, rather than improvements being made, the entitlement for young people to
learn about how their democracy functions was lost.'
Whose
role? Whose responsibility?
The
Director of the Hansard Society's Digital
Democracy programme,
Dr
Andy Williamson, has welcomed the government's announcement that online
petitions will be debated in Parliament within a year but highlighted some flaws
in the plan:
- Assessing
e-Petitions on quantity not quality leads to highly populist and
unworkable proposals.
- If Parliament
is to adopt an e-Petitions system, it is Parliament and not government who
must decide.
Dr
Williamson concludes: ‘Despite this, I'm pleased to see that the government is
being proactive and picking up where Parliament has lost momentum. What I'd
like to see is a light-weight system drawing on the useful recommendations of
the Procedure Committee around process that avoids the unnecessary over-complication
and gold-plating that stymied earlier efforts.'
To speak to Dr
Williamson, contact the Hansard Society on 020 7438 1225 or mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk
Parliament is too supine when making laws
says new report from the Hansard Society
Badly prepared bills should be rejected
Making Better Law, a new report from the Hansard Society, published next Tuesday (14th December), urges Parliament to be tougher on ill-prepared and poorly drafted legislation.
The report examines the process of law-making and the problems caused by the sheer volume of new legislation, the attitude of government to the legislative process, and the lack of time that Parliament has to scrutinise bills.
Young people debate education policy
with MPs
HeadsUp online forum gives 11-18 year olds
a say on their education
15 November - 3 December 2010
www.headsup.org.uk
The next HeadsUp online forum will be Education...is
it working for you? The forum is a chance for 11-18 year olds to
discuss the coalition's plans for education such as: free schools, changing the
national curriculum and the issues around university funding. They will debate
with young people up and down the UK as well as decision-makers
responsible for education policy.
Damien Hinds, MP for East Hampshire and a member
of the Education Select Committee will be debating with young people in the
forum. He said:
"What happens
in education shapes young people's life chances - not just by giving
qualifications, but by its power to enrich and make us rounded citizens.
It is also of course vital for the future of the economy. We have to
ensure everyone gets the education that is right for them and makes the most of
their skills and talents, while also enjoying being young!"
Liberal
Democrats, says new research for Parliamentary
Affairs
January
2011 issue of Parliamentary Affairs
As the Parliamentary
Voting System and Constituencies Bill goes to committee stage on Tuesday
October 12, research from leading academics In the forthcoming January 2011
issue of Parliamentary Affairs, demonstrates that, had the 2010 general
election been conducted under the Alternative Vote (AV) electoral system, the
Liberal Democrats would have had a wider choice of post-election coalition
partners than it experienced under First Past The Post (FPTP).
The article, Simulating
the Effects of the Alternative Vote in the 2010 UK General Election, by David Sanders, Harold D Clarke,
Marianne C Stewart and Paul Whiteley, uses survey data from the 2010 British
Election Study to simulate what the
effects on the seat distribution on the House of Commons would have been if AV
had operated in May 2010. The results suggest an outcome for the three main
parties of Conservatives 284, Labour 248 and Liberal Democrats 89. They
conclude that while the Liberal Democrats' share of seats under AV would not
have been as large as under pure proportional representation, this outcome
would nevertheless have radically
changed the arithmetic of post-election coalition building, with the Liberal
Democrats being able to form a majority coalition with either Labour or the
Conservatives.
Liberal
Democrats
Jack
of all trades: how can MPs fulfil all their
roles?
Monday
September 20 at 6.15pm - 7.30pm, Grace Suite
3, Hilton Liverpool (the fringe
hotel)
Speakers:
Jackie Ashley (Guardian), David
Heath MP, Dr Julian Huppert MP, Jo Swinson MP
Chair:
Peter Riddell (Chair, Hansard Society)
Free
Refreshments
provided
Labour
Jack
of all trades: how can MPs fulfil all their
roles?
Tuesday
September 28 at 12.30pm - 2pm, Beecham Room, Radisson Hotel (inside the secure
zone).
Speakers:
Stella Creasy MP, John Cryer MP, Jack Straw MP, Polly Toynbee (Guardian)
Chair:
Ruth Fox (Hansard Society)
Free
Refreshments
provided
Tories
Jack
of all trades: how can MPs fulfil all their
roles?
Tuesday
October 5 at 12.30pm - 2pm, Marquee 6, ICC (inside the secure
zone).
Speakers:
Nick Boles MP, Iain Dale (Total
Politics), Stephen Dorrell MP, Mary Macleod MP, Sir George Young
MP
Chair:
Lord Adonis (Executive Director, Institute for
Government)
Free
Refreshments
provided
This term's first HeadsUp forum for 11-18 year olds will be - Citizen vs the State...do you know your rights?
www.headsup.org.uk
Current
electoral system no longer effective at avoiding them
New article
from Prof John Curtice
Hung
Parliaments are likely to occur quite often in future even if Britain retains
the current first past the post (FPTP)
electoral system, says Professor John Curtice in a new OUP/Hansard Society
publication about the 2010 general election, Britain Votes 2010, launched in Westminster on Wednesday September
15 (details below).
The Hansard Society will be hosting two events at the Festival of Politics in Edinburgh
Women at the Top: Where next for Women in Politics?
Saturday 21 August, 4pm-5pm - Committee Room 3, Scottish Parliament
Dr Ruth Fox (Hansard Society)
in conversation with
Joyce McMillan (Hansard Society Scotland and The Scotsman)
AND
Where Do Young People Get Their Political News?
Friday 20th August 11.15 - 12.15 - Committee Room 1, Scottish Parliament
Michael Raftery, Citizenship and Education Director (Hansard Society)
‘Time is the oxygen of Parliament'. So said the now Leader of the House Sir George Young MP in a speech to the Hansard Society in March, setting out his party's agenda for parliamentary and legislative reform and the need for improvements to enable MPs to ‘undertake scrutiny in a measured and considered manner'.
But four months on, the parliamentary session ends with the Academies Bill securing Royal Assent after just one week of debate and consideration by elected members in the House of Commons. The coalition government's approach to the timing of new bills demonstrates that MPs are not being given the time and space to undertake scrutiny in a considered manner.
Young people want face-to-face contact with politicians and
a two-way discussion on social media.
www.headsup.org.uk
Young people on the HeadsUp.org.uk forum Politics
and Politicians...what needs to change? place as much importance on face-to-face
contact as they do on digital forms of engagement with politicians. Forum users
said that digital engagement is good if used properly, but it is not a
replacement for "actually getting out and about and talking".
Users of HeadsUp.org.uk,
which came runner up in the Empowering
Young People and Citizens category at the 2010 Nominet Internet Awards,
insisted that genuine engagement was very important to them, but only if their
ideas and suggestions were listened to and taken into account. Although some
expressed a preference for face-to-face engagement, most also accepted that if digital
engagement was welcome if it was a two way dialogue.
Record number of parliamentarians to debate with under 18s on
HeadsUp online forum
The current HeadsUp forum Politics
and Politicians: what needs to change? has a record 19
decision-makers taking part, including seven new MPs, demonstrating an
enthusiasm from the new Parliament for engaging with young people and understanding
their views on politics.
The online forum - Politics
and Politicians: what needs to change? is running from 21 June - 9 July and
will allow young people to have their say on the new government's plans so far,
the role of an MP, young people's representation in Parliament and much more.
They will be discussing these issues with 19 decision-makers including; Peers,
new MPs, shadow and serving Ministers:
Why can't I vote at my ATM?
The practicalities of the ballot box.
June 23, 6.45pm, Portcullis House, Westminster
Chair: Dr. Andy Williamson (Director, Digital Democracy Programme, Hansard Society).
Speakers: Tom Harris MP; Jason Kitcat (Open Rights Group); Jenny Watson (Chair, Electoral Commission).
Parliamentary reform: the Coalition
Government's agenda after Wright
A speech by Leader of the House of Commons,
Rt. Hon. Sir George Young MP
June 16, 6.30pm, Thatcher Room, Portcullis House, Westminster
Chaired by Peter Riddell, Chair, Hansard Society
Members of the media are invited to attend - to book your place please email mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk or phone 020 7438 1225
The Speaker of the House of Commons Rt Hon John Bercow MP
gives speech to the Hansard Society tomorrow:
Reform in a New Parliament: Reviving the Chamber
Wednesday June 9, 6pm - 8pm, Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster
Chaired by Peter Riddell, Hansard Society
The speech will be followed by Q&A session
To attend, contact mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk or phone 0208 438 1225
The Liberal Democrats win twice the amount of seats as the Conservatives and over three times as many as Labour with a massive 50.7% of the seats across the country.
The results of the 2010 Y
Vote Mock Election and Google School Elections involving over 250,000 young
people are now in and they show that young people support the Liberal Democrats
as the party that they believe should be in Government. Students gave the Liberal Democrats a narrow
majority over the other parties - 50.7% of the seats in constituencies where
Mock Elections were held. The
Conservative Party achieved 24.9% of the vote and Labour came in third, being
elected in only 15.9% of seats. This of
course differs wildly from the real general election result, in which Labour
achieved 39% of the vote.
Smaller parties achieved 8% of seats collectively, doing much better than smaller parties in the General Election, where they achieved 4% of seats.
Coalition government: lessons from near and far - PublicService.co.uk, Monday 24 May 2010 - Dr. Fox looks at the new coalition deal from a comparative perspective and suggests that too much detail in the agreement could hamper its efficacy.
Article in response to our new report Has Devolution Delivered for Women? including comments from Dr. Ruth Fox - Wales Online / Western Mail, Tuesday May 25 2010.
Significant new measures needed if improvements in
women's representation in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are to be
sustained
A report
commissioned by the British Council and produced by the Hansard Society, concludes
that the battle for fair and equal representation of women is far from won and
urgent new action is needed if the progress made in Edinburgh and Cardiff over
the last decade is to be sustained in the next one. Has
Devolution Delivered for Women? , written by Joyce McMillan and
Ruth Fox, explores the progress that has been made in improving the levels of
female representation in the devolved legislatures over the last 10 years,
analyses how this happened and what obstacles now threaten that progress. It
explores the impact that women have had on the culture of politics in Scotland
and Wales and the policy commitments that have been secured as a result of
their leadership.
Report on the differing outcomes in Mock Elections of two local schools in Worthing, West Sussex - Worthing Herald, Thursday 13 May 2010
Young people do
not rate the same issues as important at
election time
HeadsUp.org.uk,
the innovative online forum for 11-18 year olds, has found that young people
care about significantly different issues from adults when it comes to
politics. The latest online forum, which ran throughout the general election (report
available to download here), found that although young people and adults
agree that the economy is important, they disagree on their priorities for
other political issues.
Read the full report here
Dr. Andy Williamson, Director of Hansard Society's Digital Democracy Programme has written about the voting system in the UK for Local Government Chronicle, saying that it is out of date and needs updating. Andy said:
"It seems blindingly obvious in this digitally enabled age of IT-led
process transformation that we should be able to register, vote and
count those votes so much more efficiently and reliably if we use the
right tools and develop better processes to support them. "
Read the full article here
Dr. Andy Williamson - keynote
speaker at the European eDemocracy Conference
Director of Digital Democracy, Dr. Andy
Williamson, gave a keynote address at the European eDemocracy Conference in
Krems, Austria. The speech, entitled 'Embedding Citizens at the Heart of
Democracy' took a challenging look at how digital democracy initiatives have
failed to engage citizens in a climate of individualism, government technocracy
and risk aversion. It set out some routes to overcome these problems such as
allowing solutions to emerge from both government and civil society through
effective partnerships that can help overcome the distrust felt. The speech will be available to read here shortly, in the meantime Andy answered five questions on the future of eDemocracy in this short video:
http://vimeo.com/11559689
The media has been eager to hear our experts' views on various issues over the course of the 2010 General Election:
Chaotic polling problems lead to calls for e-voting - BBC Online, Friday 7 May 2010. Dr. Andy Williamson comments on electronic voting in the wake of voter anger over not being able to vote in some areas.
Dr. Ruth Fox on the political parties' options following the General Election (YouTube clip) - Bloomberg TV, Friday 7 May 2010
Cameron may ignore guidelines and claim victory - The Guardian, Wednesday 5 May 2010
No magic number for Conservatives in election - Reuters, Wednesday 5 May, 2010
Media attention for the Hansard Society's new report on trust in politics:
Politics of Trust: what's trust got to do with it? - The Public Trust Partnership Wednesday May 5, 2010
'No' to business as usual politics - Public Service, Wednesday May 5, 2010
After weeks of election campaigning, hustings, opinion polls and debate, Harrogate Grammar School's Mock Election is won by Tom Spain in a landslide victory for the ‘Tomunist Alliance' party.
Briefing Paper from the Hansard Society and the Political Studies Association
What's Trust Got To Do With It?
On the day leading politicians go head to head on the BBC to debate trust in politics, a new Briefing Paper, What's Trust Got To Do With It?, argues that public dissatisfaction with politics is based on deeper problems than lack of trust in MPs and Parliament. The Paper identifies the more urgent challenge as being the decline in the relevance of politicians and political institutions to people's everyday lives.
After weeks of election campaigning, hustings, opinion polls and political discussion, over 400 schools and nearly 20,000 young people will finally get their long-awaited chance to vote in the Hansard Society's Y-Vote Mock Elections on Thursday May 6. Many schools in your area are eager to show off their activities to journalists on Thursday.
Find out what
young people think about the policies, politicians and parties in the 2010
general election
Monday
26 April - Friday 14 May
www.headsup.org.uk
A lively debate is happening on the current
HeadsUp
forum for 11-18
year-olds, arguing about who they would vote for if they could and why? The
young people are debating policy proposals, TV Leaders' debates and the impact
of gaffes, with many certain about voting intentions if they had the chance.
Although
under-18s can't vote, they still have very informed and diverse opinions on politics,
politicians and the political parties, visit HeadsUp.org.uk to see more.
So far a variety of views have been
expressed in the forum thread Who
would you vote for?, such as:
I would vote for Lib Dems because they would most
likely introduce a new voting system
that I think would improve the general election for future years. I also think
that this country needs change,
and although that is the campaign of the conservatives, we have not had Lib Dems for a long time:; it
would be a great change for Britain.
The reason I would vote for conservatives is because I dont really think
much of Lib Dem's, I'm sorry, but i dont. I also wouldn't vote for labour is
because gordon brown hates the idea of grammer schools, and if he had his way
then all the grammer schools would shut down, and my school would too!
I think the Greens should get to run the coutry! They are focused on the
enviroment which is what we need right now! If they inforce some laws anout
being more Green global warming will be gone in no time!!!
For more information please contact Kate Egglestone/Virginia Gibbons, mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk or 020
7438 1210
Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics
Discounted
rate for Hansard Society members
The April 2010 issue of Parliamentary Affairs looks at The Politics
of Britishness.
As well as abstracts from the articles (see Editor's
Notes), Parliamentary
Affairs podcasts are also available. These are interviews with the
authors designed to explore themes from their work.
The podcasts are between 10 and 15 minutes long, and designed to inform researchers and to serve as teaching tools to
stimulate discussion amongst students.
Parliamentary Affairs is a long-established journal published by Oxford University Press in association with the Hansard
Society. Individual subscriptions cost £60 a year; special reduced
subscriptions for Hansard Society
subscription members cost £27 a year (UK),
€41 (Europe), US$54 (rest of the world).
- Individual subscriptions
cost £60 a year from jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org
or Journals Customer Service
Department, Oxford University
Press, Great Clarendon Street,
Oxford
OX2 6DP
For
further information, contact
Virginia Gibbons, Head of Communications at the Hansard Society on mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk or 020 7438 1225
Research shows manifesto commitments don't always reflect what public say they want
Research carried out by the Hansard Society over the past seven years for the annual Audit of Political Engagement demonstrates that public attitudes to politics and political engagement are complex, contradictory and rarely uniform. While there is strong agreement that the political system is in need of reform, there is little consensus on what shape that reform should take.
I've talked a lot over the last couple of years about the ephemeral nature of social media - it's a mayfly not an elephant. And last night's leader's debate was perhaps the first real opportunity to test out the veracity of this claim and indeed, to some extent, the value of social media as a democratic enabler. Tweets might persist in the ether but their half-life is in reality incredibly short. The second problem with Twitter is content or, as last night demonstrated, the lack of it. What the leader's debate confirmed was that Twitter is a great place to make a comment, state a strongly held opinion or make a joke or sarcastic remark. Last night it lacked much else and didn't add to the quality of the debate.
The leader's debate confirms that we use Twitter for posture, position and rebuttal. To signal agreement or otherwise (and disagreement is of course always more interesting), to forward and to endorse. Let's not forget that the instant nature makes it gaffe-prone too; @ericpickles's careless omission of the ‘r' in ‘shirt' turned a harmless retort into mass hilarity.
All of this makes tweets a good way to gauge instant mood and response. A handy thing at election time. But caution is needed because we're then obliged to look at who is tweeting and quickly conclude that this not a broad demographic, rather a narrower political and digital elite.
As previous research from the Hansard Society has shown, UK elections are far less candidate-driven, and attract far fewer donations than in the United States. Whilst the parties have evidently invested in online front-end tools during this campaign, there has been little evidence that they have created any meaningful increases in participation during the campaign. What will prove to be important will be the internal use of the internet within the party and campaign offices in order to organise their efforts on the ground.
Digital media serves to inform the press about developments during the campaign, and these will then trickle down to the mainstream.
So far, it does not appear that a direct link has been created online between citizen and candidate/party in this election.
Read more about the digital election at the Hansard Society's Digital Democracy blog
New research from the Hansard Society
Behind the Digital Campaign, a new report from the Hansard Society published today, examines the work done by the political parties' digital teams in the build up to the 2010 election. It demonstrates how their strategies have been influenced by digital campaigns in other countries and outlines the development of the ‘perpetual campaign'. It concludes that while the internet unlikely to lead to dramatic changes in the electoral landscape in this election, there are some noteworthy aspects to the general election digital campaign:
- UK political parties are largely followers not innovators
- Digital media is more effective in personality-led campaigns than party-led campaigns
- Expenditure and experimentation during the pre-election period has led to the ‘perpetual campaign' building communities of supporters to mobilise during the election period
- Third-party and single-issue digital campaigns are more likely to increase political participation and knowledge
- Social networking tools influence political activists, insiders and the media - stories generated on blogs and Twitter generally only reach the public when mainstream media take them up
The vital task facing the new Parliament and new MPs
A Hansard Society pamphlet, The Reform Challenge, published today, brings together perspectives and proposals on the urgent task facing the new Parliament - how to renew our democratic system and regain public confidence and trust.
In a series of Hansard Society lectures addressing the issue of parliamentary reform, representatives from the three main political parties (Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Rt Hon Sir George Young MP and David Howarth MP), the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MP and the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, put forward their proposals. The Reform Challenge brings together their thoughts to provide a comprehensive over-view of the challenges facing the next Parliament and their priorities for reform.
In addition, Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government programme, examines public confidence in and satisfaction with the effectiveness of Parliament collectively and MPs individually. She puts forward 15 priority areas for reform covering the legislative and scrutiny process and public engagement with the parliamentary process.
On March 30, the Hansard Society published the report Politicians Get Their Clicks which has received coverage in several online publications. Some of these have been listed below:
In this general election, 'data is king' - Public Service, Wednesday 31 March, 2010
The digital campaign is more than two clicks away - UKauthorITy.com, Wednesday 31 March, 2010
Politicians Get Their Clicks
A new Digital Paper, Politicians Get Their Clicks, published today by the Hansard Society, concludes that the 2010 general election will not be the much heralded first ‘internet election'. Rather, the role of digital media will be as an invaluable tool to support effective on-the-ground communication and campaigning.
The report examines the model of the Obama internet campaign and points out the critical differences between the US and the UK elections - the amount of money donated online in the US is significantly greater and the focus on an individual is critical. Politicians Get Their Clicks argues that digital developments in elections in Commonwealth countries are more relevant in predicting what we might see in the UK 2010 general election.
Outside experts should teach us about sex - say young people on HeadsUp forum
www.headsup.org.uk
The HeadsUp
online forum for 11-18 year-olds, which took place from 1-19 March, has published its report of
young people's views on sex education. The young people taking part in the Sex education - do you get enough? forum, felt that they did not want to be taught sex
education by people they know, for example their teachers, but felt an outside
specialist or expert in sex education would be preferable and less
embarrassing:
Who
should teach us is definitely not teachers as it is embarrassing and awkward it
should be somebody from outside the school so maybe somebody from Brooke or
other sexual health organisations that exist out there.
I would most certainly
not want to learn from teachers and school, it would be embarrassing.
Download
the full report here.
On Thursday March 11, the Hansard Society published a new pamphlet, Who Governs? Forming a coalition or minority government in the event of a hung parliament, examining what will happen in the event of an uncertain general election result this year. The report is quoted in the following articles:
Past offers little comfort as hung parliament looms - Irish Times, March 17, 2010
Welcome to life under Nick Clegg - Sunday Time, March 14, 2010
Lib Dem activists face investor scrutiny - Financial Times, March 11, 2010
The Hansard Society asked the three main parties to lay out their party's plans for parliamentary reform in a series of three lectures. The first lecture took place on March 9 and featured Jack Straw MP (Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice). This received some attention in the media.
Tory plan to cut MP numbers 'undemocratic' says Straw - BBC, March 9, 2010
Jack Straw: Tory plans to cut MPs are 'anti-democratic' - Telegraph, March 10, 2010
Straw accuses Cameron of 'outright gerrymandering' over boundary review - Wintour and Watt blog, Guardian, March 10, 2010
The Scout Association has been working with the Hansard Society and Oxfam to encourage young people to register to vote. More information about the project can be found at http://www.activecitizens.net/
The events have attracted press coverage, some of which is listed below:
Oxfam
and Scouts join forces to encourage young voters - Civil Society Media,
Monday 15 March
Charities
campaign to encourage first-time voters - Children & Young People Now,
Sunday 14 March
Scouts urge
young people to vote - Jakehead.com, Saturday 13 March
Scout
Association urging young people to vote - BBC, Saturday 13 March
Nottingham
event to encourage youngsters to vote - This is Nottingham, Saturday 13
March
Discounted rate for Hansard Society members
The latest issue of Parliamentary Affairs includes a focus on Devolution: Ten Years On.
This special issue of Parliamentary Affairs looks at how devolution has taken place over the past 10 years, examining the devolved institutions and how politics has developed in these differing environs, as well as the implications for Westminster.
As well as abstracts from the articles (see Editor's Notes), Parliamentary Affairs podcasts are also available. These are interviews with the authors designed to explore themes from their work. The podcasts are between 10 and 15 minutes long, and designed to inform researchers and to serve as teaching tools to stimulate discussion amongst students.
A guide to process and procedures
A new pamphlet from the Hansard Society and the Study of Parliament Group, published today, examines what will happen if there is an uncertain election result - with particular focus on the implications for Parliament.
Who Governs? Forming a coalition or a minority government in the event of a hung Parliament sets out what will happen if no party has overall control. The authors (Robert Blackburn, Ruth Fox, Oonagh Gay and Lucinda Maer) explore the constitutional process of forming a government, the role and impact that parliamentary procedure will have in the process, and examine the constitutional issues regarding the calling of a second general election. Drawing on past history, they examine the lessons to be learnt from the devolved legislatures, and international comparisons, and explore what impact, if any coalition and minority government might have on the culture of politics in the next Parliament. Finally, they assess what role constitutional and parliamentary reform may play in any post-election inter-party agreement.
Hansard Society Welcomes Wright Committee Result
As a strong advocate of the Wright Committee proposals for reform of the House of Commons the Hansard Society has welcomed this afternoon's vote by MPs who unanimously accepted the key recommendations.
Commenting on today's outcome, Dr Ruth Fox, said, ‘Today's result is an important milestone in reform of the House of Commons. We urged MPs to support the reforms - indeed we first recommended a Business Committee for the House of Commons nearly two decades ago - so we are delighted with the unanimous support for them in the House today.'
‘There is now a clear mandate for change and the Government should move quickly to implement them. If the proposals are to be in place for the next Parliament the Standing Orders of the House need to be amended.'
The 2010 Hansard Society annual Audit of Political Engagement has received lots of coverage in the media, some of which is listed below:
General Election 2010: Facebook and Twitter to have unprecedented impact - Telegraph, Tuesday 6 April 2010
MPs' expenses scandal 'has not caused collapse in trust in
politics' - Guardian, Wednesday 3 March 2010
Parliament's drift into irrelevance - Politics.co.uk Wednesday, 03, Mar 2010 01:33
Many young voters not registered, says watchdog - BBC, Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Only 22% of parents would be proud to see their child become
an MP - Andrew
Sparrow, Guardian, Wednesday 3 March 2010
Blunkett warns of widening gap between politicians and
public - David Blunkett MP's blog, Wednesday, 03, Mar 2010
Hansard: No silver bullet - Politics.co.uk, Wednesday, 03, Mar 2010
Expenses row had 'modest impact' on MPs' reputations - Epolitix, Wednesday 3 March 2010
Move over Mondeo man - Mr Bored and Ms Mistrustful rule road
in 2010 - Polly Curtis, Guardian, Saturday 27 February 2010
Lalit Modi eases fears of IPL terrorism after Englishmen
wobble - Guardian, Saturday 27 February 2010 16.52 GMT
Decline in relevance of Parliament - but Parliament ‘worthwhile'
Increase in dissatisfaction with MPs in general - but not own MP
The 2010 Hansard Society annual Audit of Political Engagement published today shows that while the MPs' expenses scandal has affected the public's satisfaction with and perception of MPs and the Westminster Parliament, there has not been a collapse of trust in politicians or politics.
Most significantly, there has been a big decline since the first Audit in 2004 in the perceived impact of the Westminster Parliament on people's lives, compared to other institutions. Only 19% think Parliament is one of the top three influential institutions on their everyday lives - an 11% drop from 2004. But 60% still think Parliament is ‘worthwhile', compared to only 14% who disagree.
There has been no overall collapse of trust in politicians - 26% say they trust politicians generally compared to 27% in 2004 and 73% say they distrust politicians compared to 70% in 2004. Because levels of trust were already low, the MPs' expenses scandal merely confirmed and hardened the public's widely held scepticism about politicians rather than changed their views.
Young voters demand more two-way communication
A Hansard Society report - Parliament 2020: visioning the future Parliament - asking first-time voters, parliamentarians and parliament officials about their visions for a future Parliament found that all groups wanted to see Parliament using new technologies to more actively engage with citizens.
The top priorities for all three groups (first-time voters, parliamentary officials and MPs and Peers) were:
- Greater use of new technologies
- Interactive communication
The main concern of MPs and Peers was the modernisation of procedures in Parliament, and while parliamentary officials, MPs and Peers prioritised access to information, first-time voters prioritised:
- Education and outreach
- Transparency and accountability
- Diversity of representatives
Peter Riddell, Hansard Society Chair, gives the inaugural Parliamentary Affairs Annual Lecture
Thursday 25 February, 6.30pm, Macmillan Room, Portcullis House
In 2009 the reputation of politicians and politics itself reached rock bottom. Peter Riddell, Chair of the Hansard Society, in his speech at the inaugural Parliamentary Affairs Annual lecture tomorrow evening will examine the role of politicians in a modern representative democracy. He will say:
‘...We need, and should nurture, politicians if we want a vibrant and healthy democracy. Criticising politicians as a class - regardless of their individual merits, as well as weaknesses - is counter-productive and dangerous. It is likely to deter good people from putting themselves forward as candidates - and is one reason for the record retirements at the end of this Parliament. So, just as we celebrate politics as a crucial activity in a healthy democracy, so let us recognise the vital role of politicians.'
On February 10, the Hansard Society published the report Digital citizens and demoncratic participation: An analysis of how citizens participate online and connect with MPs and Parliament which has received coverage in several online publications. Dr Andy Williamson, participated in a panel discussing whether MPs should use online tools on Sky News on February 16.Director of the Hansard Society eDemocracy Programme. Below is a selection of articles discussing the report.
What do the public want politcians to get up to online? - Mark Pack, Liberal Democrat Voice
Hansard Society report: Britons want MPs to communicate online - Total Politics blog
People want MPs to engage online - Public Service
Digital Citizens want to engage with politicians - passive democracy is not enough - UKauthorITy.com
Passive democracy is not enough
A Hansard Society report - Digital citizens and democratic participation: An analysis of how citizens participate online and connect with MPs and Parliament - shows that for Britons who are already online, the internet has made it easier to take part in civic and political activities and that half of them prefer to use the internet to take part in democratic life.
In an open
letter to Leader of the House, Harriet Harman, seven organisations
concerned with parliamentary and constitutional reform have come together to
urge the Government and MPs not to act as a roadblock to reform of the House of
Commons before the general election.
The Better Government Initiative, Constitution Unit, Democratic Audit, Electoral
Reform Society, Hansard Society, Power 2010 and Unlock Democracy all support
implementation of the recommendations of the Select Committee on Reform of the
House of Commons (the ‘Wright Committee') which include:
- a Business Committee for the House of Commons to give MPs a greater
stake in the shaping of the parliamentary agenda, thus offseting the power of
the executive;
- reforms to the appointment of Select Committee members and chairs;
- new opportunities for public initiation of House of Commons proceedings,
for example through the trialling of a Petitions Committee.
UPDATE - Harriet Harman has given a date for discussion of the Wright Committee report as March 4 - Guardian, Tuesday 9 February 2010
Dr. Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament & Government Programme, was on BBC Breakfast discussing the process of parliamentary privilage. This interview was also covered in the Independent:
"If it is a defence against almost any action that an MP takes in Parliament, in any relationship with their work, then I think this is going to be deeply damaging for the public. They will see that it is putting MPs above the public, giving them enhanced powers, making them essentially above the laws that they themselves make."
Read the coverage:
The Independent
BBC News
Telegraph - February 4
Liberal Conspiracy - February 4
Left Foot Forward - February 3
Guardian - February 3
Read the press release and letter here
The Hansard Society is recommended in a report released by the
Procedure Committee - Election of the Speaker and of the Deputy Speakers.
In its conclusions and recommendations it suggests that hustings for the
position of Speaker of the House of Commons should be organised by
organisations such as the Hansard Society. In June 2009 the Hansard Society
organised the first ever public hustings, which were streamed live on the BBC -
the first time a non-parliamentary business event had been broadcast live from
within Parliament. The report said:
"Hustings
4. We welcome the part played by outside
organisations such as the Hansard Society in organising hustings for the
election of the Speaker and believe that this is a role best filled by these
bodies, rather than by the House itself. (Paragraph 19)"
Changes must be in place before election
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, welcomes today's announcement that the recommendations of the House of Commons Reform Committee (the Wright Committee) will be debated on February 23 - nearly two months after their publication - and urges MPs to reach a speedy consensus so changes can be in place before the election.
Reforms suggested by the Wright Committee, such as establishment of a business committee, enshrining a commitment to set up select committees within six weeks of Parliament returning, and elections for select committee chairs and members, have serious implications for the new Parliament. If they are not implemented before the general election, we run the risk of months of delay during which a new government, of whatever political persuasion, could escape effective parliamentary scrutiny.
Dr Ruth Fox was quoted in an article discussing the issue of district council potentially dropping the
practice of counting ballots through the night. The article discusses the affect this may have on the financial markets in the UK.
Read the article on Bloomberg here
Letter to the Guardian published:
Despite the Wright committee's report on reform of the House of Commons attracting praise and enthusiasm across the political parties (Letters, 14 January), at today's business questions,
the government again failed to schedule a Commons debate on its
recommendations. Reforms such as establishment of a business committee,
enshrining a commitment to set up select committees within six weeks of
parliament returning, and elections for select committees, have serious
implications for the new parliament.
See the letter on the Guardian website here
Election manifesto commitments needed
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, today welcomed the Speaker's Conference report on Parliamentary Representation and called on the political parties to come up with firm manifesto commitments to promote active citizenship and political literacy.
11-18 year olds
want more lessons on financial literacy to avoid future credit crunch
HeadsUp.org.uk
The
young people using the HeadsUp online The Economy: What Went Wrong? forum expressed a
sense of shock that adults had allowed the credit crunch to happen and thought
it was important for their generation to learn from the situation to avoid the
same thing happening in the future. They wanted more education from a young
age, about economics and how to manage their personal finances.
The speech given by Sir Ian Kennedy, setting the context for IPSA's proposed MP's expenses scheme, to the Hansard Society received wide media coverage:
Politics.co.uk
Telegraph
Epolitix
Times
Sky News
Daily Express
Labour's real advantage at next election is a better distribution of voters
January 2010 issue of Parliamentary Affairs
Discounted rate for Hansard Society members
In the forthcoming January 2010 issue of Parliamentary Affairs, leading academics demonstrate that changes in the redistribution of seats to create uniform constituency sizes have only a minor impact on the outcome of elections - the geography of each party's support base is much more important.
New Public Bill Committees can improve legislative scrutiny
Parliamentary Affairs article now available online
Discounted rate for Hansard Society members
In a forthcoming issue of Parliamentary Affairs - now available online- Jessica Levy, parliamentary researcher to Dr Tony Wright MP, outlines the potential of new Public Bill Committees to revitalise Westminster's legislative process.
Our most recent Democracy Forum on Civil Liberties that took place on Tuesday December 8 provoked a heated debate amongst our panel. Sir Ian Blair, Peter Oborne and Henry Porter engaged in a lively discussion on the night, a discussion that has since continued ...
Appointment of lay members with voting rights raises important constitutional and parliamentary issues, says Hansard Society
Following today's statement by the Leader of the House that the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 is to be amended to implement the Kelly report recommendations regarding the role and remit of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, further clarification from the House of Commons is still needed on the appointment of lay members.
The Kelly Report recommended that at least two lay members who have never been parliamentarians should be appointed, with voting rights, to the Standards and Privileges Committee as a ‘step towards enhancing public acceptance of the robustness and independence of the disciplinary process' in the House of Commons. (Kelly recommendation 51, p106-107)
Today's statement does not address this recommendation which raises important constitutional and parliamentary issues as there is no precedent for non-elected members to be appointed to a House of Commons Committee and to be accorded voting rights equal to those of the MPs (see Editors' Notes). For the Standards and Privileges Committee to appoint lay members, then authorisation will be needed through a Resolution of the House. This will need to be laid by the Government.
Dr Ruth Fox, Parliament & Government Programme Director, appeared on the Daily Politics Programme to discuss the potentially historic numbers of new MPs after the general election. Ruth points out that many of the MPs retiring have an indepth knowledge of parliamentary process. You can ...
The Lord Speaker, Rt Hon Baroness Hayman, will deliver a speech to the Hansard Society on Wednesday December 9 at 6.15pm at the House of Lords, Westminster.
The Lord Speaker will call for the Lords to take responsibility for putting its own House in order through self regulation that meets 21st century standards, building on recent recommendations from the Eames report on a new Code of Conduct and taking forward the Senior Salaries Review Body's proposals for reform of the system of financial support for members.
In her speech, Ermine, Ethics and Engagement: Evolution in the House of Lords, the Lord Speaker will also call for the House of Lords to set up its own process to consider the strengthening Parliament agenda - parallel to the Wright Committee report published in the Commons last month.
Tuesday December 8, 6.30pm - 8pm
Portcullis House, Westminster
Speakers:
- Sir Ian Blair (former Metropolitan Police Commissioner)
- Peter Oborne (journalist and commentator)
- Henry Porter (political columnist and novelist)
HeadsUp forum users are well-informed about
climate change and more than ready to play their part in the solution
www.headsup.org.uk
Young people taking part in the forum felt
that adults don’t necessarily have the degree of knowledge that young people do
about combating climate change and the people in power are not doing
enough.
HeadsUp is the Hansard Society’s innovative
web forum, where 11-18 year-olds debate political issues with legislators and
policy-makers. This three week forum, in partnership with the Department of
Energy and Climate Change, looked at the issue of climate change in the run up
to the UN Summit in Copenhagen.
It involved legislators such as Joan Ruddock MP (Minister of State, DECC), Jo
Swinson MP (Member, Environmental Audit Committee) and Caroline Lucas MEP (Leader
of the Green Party). The
full report is available to read here.
The
Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow MP delivered the Political Studies Association/ Hansard
Society Annual Lecture to a packed audience in Portcullis House. This was the
second lecture delivered by the Speaker to a Hansard Society audience, taking
us yet further into the challenge of public engagement in the light of the
‘reputational carnage’ wreaked upon our constitutional institutions by the
expenses scandal. The lecture, entitled ‘Parliament
in an anti-politics age: the outreach challenge’, took the following
approach. Their has been a lot of coverage of the speech. Read a write-up of the event, the full speech, listen to the audio and see photos here.
Evening Standard
Financial Times Westminster Blog
Daily Mail
Telegraph
Times Online
BBC
Epolitix
Independent
Dr Ruth Fox appeared on the BBC Record Review to discuss the implications of the Tony Wright report, specifically the way that the House of Commons elects its committee chairs, considering if it should be a secret ballot election, to reduce the influence of the party whips. Ruth pointed out that given that the Government had amended the motion that set up the Tony Wright committee, they would almost certainly have to implement it. Andrew Pelling MP said that it would be the election that decided upon reforms, and Dr Evan Harris MP said that the reforms suggested in the report didn't go far enough.
Watch the full Record Review here or watch a clip on BBC online here
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MP, will deliver the 2009 Political Studies Association/Hansard Society Lecture on Monday November 30 at 6.30pm at Westminster.
In his speech, Parliament in an anti-politics age: the outreach challenge, the Speaker will candidly acknowledge how much damage the expenses debacle has done to the reputation of the House of Commons and undermined the efforts of those involved in parliamentary outreach.
He will identify the factors related to our changing society which would have made outreach a testing challenge even if the expenses affair had not occurred.
He will set out the strategy which he thinks is the best means of reconnecting Parliament and the public.
In addition, he will announce a new institutional innovation which he thinks will assist that cause.
Beccy Allen, Researcher & Project Manager, Hansard Society Citizenship Education Programme, wrote this with reference to the HeadsUp.org.uk forum Climate Change - How should the world summit tackle the problem.
"I read Tim Jackson's piece on the flaws of consumerism in
relation to climate change with interest. In particular as he gives one of the
few mentions in the Copenhagen Special to the role of young people. He is right
that our teenagers are under immense peer-pressure to reinforce their identity
and social standing through what they buy, wear, talk on and listen to.
Read the full letter
Read the full report of the forum here
House of Commons Reform Committee report, Rebuilding the House, needs to be urgently implemented before general election but further reforms of legislative process are needed
Proposals published today by the House of Commons Reform Committee to enhance Parliament's control over its own agenda, timetable and procedures have been welcomed by the Hansard Society as a useful start to much needed reform of parliamentary procedures and the legislative process. However, the recommendations to facilitate greater public involvement in the parliamentary process are weak and disappointing.
11-18 year-olds to discuss the
impact of the recession on young people
November
23 - December 11
HeadsUp.org.uk
HeadsUp is the Hansard Society's innovative
web forum, where 11-18 year-olds debate political issues with legislators and
policy-makers. The second forum of the 2009/10 series
is the very topical The Economy:
What Went Wrong? This
forum has an in depth back-up section
to inform forum users about the issues surrounding the economy. They then have
the space to tell each other and legislators what the effect of the economic
downturn has been and will be on their lives; as well as give their views on
what went wrong.
Legislative issues need to be resolved quickly if new system is to be in place in time for general election says Hansard Society
Following publication of the Kelly report on Wednesday November 4, the Hansard Society has urged Parliament to clarify its stance on the future role and remit of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) after the report recommended new legislation to significantly change its focus.
IPSA was established under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009. However, the Kelly Report makes clear that the legislation was drafted in haste and a number of improvements could and should be made to the new body's scope, powers and governance.
Ruth Fox, the director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and
Government Programme, offered her thoughts on the current state of
democracy in the UK, on BBC Democracy Live.
Read the full article here.
Possible constitutional stumbling blocks, says Hansard Society
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, broadly welcomes the recommendations put forward in the Kelly Report today, but questions whether some of these recommendations will require new primary legislation - and therefore a vote in Parliament - to be enacted. In particular:
‘New Code of Conduct should help restore trust in House of Lords'
In June 2009, The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, published a briefing paper Restoring Trust in the House of Lords setting out a range of measures which should be taken if trust and faith in the House of Lords is be restored. We welcome the Eames Review Report which embodies a number of these recommendations, specifically:
- The appointment of a fully independent Commissioner for Standards to conduct investigations into all alleged misconduct by Members.
- The new proposed Code which seeks to articulate more clearly and comprehensively the general principles of conduct which should guide Members.
- That all Members should give a formal, signed undertaking to abide by the Code at the same time as taking the oath of allegiance on their introduction to the House and at the start of each new Parliament.
- Amending the wording of the Code so that it does not amount to a ‘lawyer's charter' which, contrary to the public interest, could delay inquiries into members misconduct.
- That future induction and mentoring of new Members should be improved and focus on standards and not just on political or practical matters.
- That Members of the House of Lords should be banned from accepting payment in return for providing parliamentary advice or services to outside bodies or persons.
Schools are the best place for education
and action on climate change, say young people on the HeadsUp forum
www.headsup.org.uk
The young people on the HeadsUp forum discussing
climate change felt that schools are the best places for them to have an impact
and a voice on environmental matters. Some had already encouraged teachers to
switch lights and computers off, increase recycling in the classroom or set up
committees to look at how the school could reduce its environmental impact.
HeadsUp is the Hansard Society's innovative
web forum, where 11-18 year-olds debate political issues with legislators and
policy-makers. This three week forum, in partnership with the Department of
Energy and Climate Change, looked at the issue of climate change in the run up
to the UN Summit in Copenhagen.
It involved legislators such as Joan Ruddock MP (Minister of State, DECC), Jo
Swinson MP (Member, Environmental Audit Committee) and Caroline Lucas MEP (Leader,
Green Party). The
full report is available to read here
A new Digital Paper from the Hansard Society - Twitter: Communication tool or pointless vanity? - shows that a higher percentage of Liberal Democrat MPs use Twitter compared to the other political parties:
New Y Vote Mock Elections Website Launched
www.mockelections.co.uk
A new Y Vote Mock Election website, with Web 2.0
features, is launched today. The site is now easier to navigate and is an
essential tool for teachers wishing to run a mock election in their school. A mock election teaches students about the mechanics of an election and
enables them to discuss topical issues. Students can stand as a candidate, help
develop policy and a campaign strategy, design campaign posters and party
logos, write speeches, canvass for support and crucially cast their vote on the
day.
Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics
Discounted rate for Hansard Society members
The October 2009 issue of Parliamentary Affairs looks at Charter 88 and the constitutional reform movement 20 years on.
As well as abstracts from the articles (see Editor's Notes), Parliamentary Affairs podcasts are also available. These are interviews with the authors designed to explore themes from their work. The podcasts are between 10 and 15 minutes long, and designed to inform researchers and to serve as teaching tools to stimulate discussion amongst students.
Demonstrable link between knowledge, interest and
engagement in politics
October issue of Parliamentary Affairs
Discounted rate for Hansard Society members
In the October 2009 issue of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society Parliament and Government programme, demonstrates that, in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal, proposals for more direct and participatory decision-making mechanisms fail to take account of the demonstrable link between political engagement and levels of knowledge and interest. Dr Fox identifies this lack of knowledge and interest as one of the key barriers to participation in the political process and makes the case for enhanced political literacy education and well-resourced, high-quality citizenship education.
The speech by Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, entitled Parliamentary Reform: the route from here to there has had a range of press coverage, below is a selection of stories and opinion pieces covering the speech. You can listen to and download the text of the speech here.
The
Guardian
Michael
White
STV/Reuters
EPolitix.com
The
Telegraph
Press
Association
BBC News
HeadsUp is the Hansard Society's innovative web forum, where under-18s debate political issues with legislators and policy-makers. The first forum for the 2009/10 series is Climate Change - how should the world summit tackle the problem? ahead of the UN summit in Copenhagen. The views of young people debating on HeadsUp will feed into the government's strategy at the summit. The three week debate is happening online from Monday September 28 until Friday October 16 and all of the comments by the legislators and young people on the forum can be viewed throughout the forum without registration.
In the forthcoming October 2009 issue of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society Parliament and Government programme, demonstrates that, in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal, proposals for more direct and participatory decision-making mechanisms fail to take account of what the public really wants in terms of engagement and participation.
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, has long supported the principle of televised Leaders' Debates as an important contribution to the public's engagement with, and participation in, the democratic process.
The Hansard Society, which organised the first ever televised Speaker Hustings earlier this year, is happy to collaborate with broadcasters in the organisation of televised Leaders' Debates on the following principles:
Fiona Booth, Chief Executive of the Hansard Society, commented:
‘Televised debates between leaders of the major parties are now customary in most democracies and the Hansard Society has long supported such an event in the UK. We believe that civic society is most effective when its citizens are connected with the institutions and individuals who represent them in the democratic process. Televised Leaders' Debates would offer the opportunity to bring the election debate directly into people's living rooms where they can assess the parties' attitudes to the main policy issues at stake in the next general election.'
Hansard Society/British Council debate at Festival of Politics
Thursday August 20, 2.30pm - 4pm
Committee Room 1, Scottish Parliament
Journalists are invited to attend a unique event at the Festival of Politics next week - Has Devolution Delivered for Women? Participation, Representation & Power looks at women's representation in the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading
non-partisan political research and education charity, welcomes further talks
on televised Leaders' Debates and believes such events encourage public
engagement with politics.
Fiona Booth, Chief Executive of the Hansard Society, commented:
‘As a result of Lord Mandelson's comments yesterday
we are encouraged to hear that serious consideration is being given by the Parties,
to participate in a televised Leaders' Debate.
The Hansard Society has long supported such debates and was responsible
for organising the first ever televised Speaker Hustings held in June.'
More action is needed says Hansard Society...
In a new Briefing Paper, Restoring Trust in
the House of Lords (download
the paper here) published today, the Hansard Society has called
for more action to be taken if trust and faith in the House of Lords is to be
restored in the near future.
The Government's new Constitutional Reform and Governance
Bill will provide new powers to evict peers from the House of Lords for egregious
behaviour. But on its own, this new measure will not be enough to address
concerns about public confidence in the Upper House as it deals with only the
enforcement part of the problem.
Restoring Trust in the House of Lords sets out a range of further measures that are still
needed. Examining the complex issues of ethics, regulation, standards and trust
that specifically affect the House of Lords it makes recommendations for reform
including:
--Empowering the office of the Lord Speaker to be
able to better represent and act on behalf of the House and take forward a
mandate for reform.
- Significant revision
of the Code of Conduct, including setting out a clear ethos and mission for
the House of Lords and extending the Code to cover the use of allowances and
expenses.
- Consideration of the introduction of a hybrid payments system for allowances and expenses
to better reflect the degree of each peer's involvement in the work of the
House.
- Establishing a hierarchy
of possible sanctions that may be applied for breaches of a new Code of Conduct
up to and including permanent expulsion from the House.
- Establishing a system
of external independent regulation for the management of the Lords
allowances and expenses system and enforcement of the Code of Conduct.
Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the
Hansard Society's Parliament and Government Programme, commented: ‘Public trust has to be earned before it is
granted. It is clear that faith and confidence in both Houses of Parliament is
at a nadir - that's why incremental reform of the system will no longer do. A
radical overhaul is necessary to build a new culture of open, transparent,
independently monitored regulation coupled with robust sanctions for those who
transgress. Eviction of peers is important but much more action is required if
the House of Lords is to regain public confidence.'
The Senior Salaries Review Body is
currently reviewing the House of Lords allowances and expenses system and a
Leadership Group in the House of Lords has been established under the
chairmanship of the Rt Rev Lord Eames to revise the House of Lords Code of
Conduct. This Briefing Paper is a contribution to the public debate about these
important issues.
Lords Information Committee Report ‘far-reaching' and ‘comprehensive'
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, welcomes the House of Lords Information Committee report Are the Lords listening? Creating connections between people and Parliament, published this week but calls for greater access for specialist journalists.
Fiona Booth, Chief Executive of the Hansard Society, commented:
‘The Lords Information Committee Report is far-reaching and comprehensive and we wholeheartedly endorse its many excellent recommendations. But, in addition, we are calling for the Lords to adopt a media strategy that would play to its strengths - the experience, skills and knowledge of the peers and the detailed scrutiny of policy and legislation that is undertaken. Most press gallery journalists are general political correspondents and attendance by journalists at House of Lords debates and committees is often sparse. We would urge that greater access should be provided for specialist journalists to attend debates, committees and briefings relevant to their specialty. Improved coverage of the Lords would help enormously in connecting Parliament with the people.'
Less than a fifth of population agree that Parliament broadly
reflects the make up of British Society
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political
research and education charity, welcomes the Speaker's Conference interim
report published today which calls on the
political parties to use forthcoming candidate selections to change the culture
of politics and make the House of Commons more representative of society.
Fiona Booth, Chief Executive of the Hansard Society,
commented: ‘Our research shows that only 18% of the public agree that
Parliament broadly reflects the make up of British society and just 19% agree
that Parliament is ‘working for them'. This has a profound effect on our
parliamentary democracy and it is up to the political parties to take positive
steps to rebuild public confidence and trust in those who represent us.'
HeadsUp is the Hansard Society's innovative web forum, where under-18s debate political issues with a variety of legislators and policy-makers. The most recent discussion was a follow up of the Youth Citizenship Commission debate in November '08. The Youth Citizenship Commission has recently launched its findings and recommendations on the subject of engaging young people with citizenship, politics and their communities. They used this HeadsUp forum to feedback their findings and get young people's responses to their recommendations. This forum ran from 15 June - 3 July and the report is available to download now.
Students from three organisations will be travelling to Westminster on Wednesday July 8 to meet the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, and members of the House of Lords Communications Committee to discuss their winning entries in the Raw Deal or Truth Told? Young People in the Media competition organised by the Hansard Society and the House of Lords.
Most MPs use Facebook for one-way communication not campaigning
Today, the Hansard Society launches MPs on Facebook, the first in a new series of short Digital Papers examining how parliamentarians are using social media.
MPs on Facebook shows that while over half (51%) of Liberal Democrat MPs have a presence on Facebook, the figures for Labour and the Conservatives are 15% and 9%, respectively.
The research identified three main types of usage: campaigning, communication and personal:
- 46% of MPs are using Facebook primarily as a communications tool
- 31% of MPs are using Facebook primarily to canvas and campaign
- 13% of MPs are using Facebook primarily for personal information
- 10% of MPs' Facebook pages are ‘inactive'
The
Hansard Society Speaker Hustings will be televised in full, including the
questions that were put to the candidates by MPs, at 9pm on Saturday June 20, on the BBC Parliament
channel, available on
Sky (Channel 504), Telewest (Channel 612), NTL (Channel 128/13) and Freeview
(Channel 81).
Independents and ‘others' attract under-18s
Conservatives are largest party
Greens do particularly well with young people
Young people taking part in the Hansard Society Y Vote Mock Elections for the European Parliament returned fewer MEPs for the main political parties than their adult counterparts in the real Euro elections. All major parties saw a drop in support; the Conservative Party was the largest party with 17 seats and the Green Party was the only one that performed better in the mock elections.
The Hansard Society Speaker Hustings - the first
ever of their kind - have enjoyed widespread coverage in the media. The hustings were streamed live on the BBC news
website and the candidates introductory speeches were shown on BBC Parliament
on 16 June.
Please click here for a full list of newspaper articles referring to the hustings
The YCC returns to Hansard Society's HeadsUp
forum to discuss issues that matter to young people - June 16, 2009
The current discussion is a follow up the Youth Citizenship Commission debate in November ‘08. The Youth Citizenship Commission has been carrying out more research into the subject of engaging young people in Citizenship and politics, in particular, the crucial role of community engagement.
The three week debate is happening online now until
July 3.
Legislators and policy-makers involved include: Natascha Engel MP
(Chair of the All Party Youth Affairs group); Theresa May MP
(Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions and Shadow Minister for
Women for the Conservative party); Karen Whitefield MSP
(Labour Party spokesperson for children and young people in the Scottish
Parliament); Professor Jon Tonge (Chair of the Youth Citizenship Commission); Dame Tanni
Grey-Thompson (Paralympic athlete).
‘The election of a new Speaker provides a rare opportunity to fundamentally reform the way that the House of Commons works in the public interest.'
The Hansard Society has today launched a blueprint for reform of the House of Commons drawing on 20 years of research work and recommendations to strengthen Parliament.
The blueprint has been published to coincide with the first ever Speaker Hustings held in public view, and before the media, and hosted today by the Hansard Society.
The Hansard Society held the first ever Speaker Hustings in Parliament on June 15 where potential candidates for the post of Speaker took questions from MPs. It was streamed live on the BBC news website and we twittered throughout the event to keep people up to date with the proceedings as they happened.
All of the participants spoke for 5 minutes, setting out their manifestos. MPs then asked questions, including Douglas Carswell MP, Stephen Pound MP, Ann Cryer MP, Martin Salter MP, Ann Milton MP, George Howarth MP, Michael Moore MP, Chris Mullen MP and quite a few more! On June 22 it was announced that John Bercow MP had won the election and is the new Speaker of the House of Commons.
The participants were:
- Margaret Beckett MP
- Sir Alan Beith MP
- John Bercow MP
- Sir Patrick Cormack MP
- Parmjit Dhanda MP
- Sir Alan Haselhurst MP
- Sir Michael Lord MP
- Richard Shepherd MP
- Ann Widdecombe MP
- Sir George Young MP
Listen to the event
See more photos on flickr
An essential handbook for understanding the role of the Scottish Parliament in the Scottish and wider UK political process
The Scottish Parliament 1999-2009: The First Decade is a timely new publication from Hansard Society Scotland, published by Luath Press, examining the challenges and successes of the first 10 years of the Scottish Parliament and its impact on the lives of the Scottish people.
The Scottish Parliament 1999-2009: The First Decade costs £9.99 and is available from Luath Press
Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society Parliament and Government programme, said:
‘MPs are elected to represent their constituents but they also have a constitutional duty to ensure effective scrutiny of the Government.
‘We have long argued that the balance of power between MPs and the Government in the House of Commons needs to change.
‘If public faith in our representative democracy is to be restored, radical reform is needed to:
- provide for better scrutiny of the Government;
- improve the quality and effectiveness of the law making process;
- enhance the relationship between Parliament and the public; and
- make the institution more efficient.
Drawing on our substantial body of work in this area we recommend that the House of Commons:
1. Establish a Business Committee, putting control of the parliamentary timetable and agenda in the hands of a cross-party body of MPs rather than leaving it in the control of the Government, thus providing for greater consideration of topical issues.
2. Set up a Parliamentary Finance Office, modelled on the US Congressional Budget Office, to provide individual MPs with independent expertise and resources on financial matters, thus empowering them to better scrutinise the Government's proposals for public spending and taxation.
3. Enhance the role and authority of the publicly popular Select Committee's. Committee Chair's and members should be elected by MPs not selected by Party Whips; the work of committee's should be better integrated into wider parliamentary activity, and more time should be set aside for the detailed scrutiny work that committee's undertake.
4. Adopt a system of e-Petitions to help revitalise public engagement with Parliament. These should be incorporated with paper petitions and processed through a newly established ‘petitions (or even public engagement) committee' to ensure that the views of citizens are not ignored, and that they are properly integrated into Parliamentary procedures and processes.
5. Appoint a Chief Executive to professionalise the organisation and operation of the House of Commons. In light of the proposal to create an independent Parliamentary regulatory body which will take over the duties of the House of Commons Fees Office, there is an opportunity to substantially reform and modernise the internal administrative organisation of the House of Commons. At present the House is managed by the Clerk of the House under the auspices of the Speaker. Clerks are expert professional advisers on process and procedure - their expertise is not in the field of management, budgets and logistics. A Chief Executive should be appointed to take over these administrative and organisational aspects of the House of Commons. ‘
Ruth Fox is available for interview - contact Virginia Gibbons at the Hansard Society on mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk or 020 7438 1225 or 07812 765 552
Aberdeen based newspaper Press and Journal covered our Why Vote? European elections hustings series which ran in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen over 11-14 May.
Alice Miles used the Hansard Society report A Year in the Life (2005) in an article on MP's expenses in The Times.
The Scotsman discussed the Ten Years of The Scottish Parliament: Achievements and Futures
conference took place to a full audience at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
Matt Korris, Research Fellow on the Hansard Society's Parliament & Government Programme, discussed the findings of the Audit of Political Engagement 6 with Paul Knipe of Lucid Magazine. The article, entitled 'Democracy of a Fashion', discusses whether there is a crisis of political engagement in the UK and surmises that 'it’s not all last season for democracy in the UK'.
Read the full article here.
Dr. Andy WIlliamson, Director of the Hansard Society eDemocracy Programme, took part in Westminster Hour's Sunday Supplement entitled 'Petitioning the Modern Way', discussing the value of e-Petitions and begins at around 44 minutes into the programme. It will be available until Sunday 10 May:
Listen to Westminster Hour
Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics
Discounted rate for Hansard Society members
The April 2009 issue of Parliamentary Affairs analyses party activism and asks: Where have all the Members Gone?
Hansard Society HeadsUp forum users discuss transport with Lords, MPs and policy makers 20 April - 8 May www.headsup.org.uk
Y Vote Mock Elections
Free Hansard Society resources teach young people about the election process
The Audit of Political Engagement 6 has been mentioned and discussed by a wide range of media outlets, including TV, radio and print:
Coming up:
‘Obama effect' comes to British politics
The Hansard Society's sixth Audit of Political Engagement, published today, indicates that an ‘Obama effect' may be developing among British black and ethnic minorities (BMEs):
Hansard Society HeadsUp
forum users discuss crime in the UK with Lords, MPs and policy
makers
www.headsup.org.uk
HeadsUp is the Hansard Society's innovative website where
under-18s debate politics and political issues with legislators and other young
people. The most recent debate discussed Crime
in Britain:
How big is the problem? There were four main strands:
- The police - Do they treat young people fairly?
- The media - Does the media criminalise young people?
- Law, punishment and justice - Is prison enough to
prevent re-offending?
- Your
community - Do you feel safe?
Almost all forum users who
commented felt that prison sentences
are too lenient and some forum users commented that they felt a life sentence
should mean the rest of the person's life is spent in jail.
Read the full report here
The Lord Speaker's Competition for Schools in partnership with the Hansard Society
The Hansard Society and the House of Lords are launching a new competition for young people aged 11 to 16 to express how they feel about media portrayals of their generation: Raw Deal or Truth Told? Young People in the Media. The entrants are being asked to look at issues such as portrayals of youth culture in television programmes, negative coverage in print media and questions like should celebrities, sports stars or musicians be role models? This follows on from the success of 2008's What a Waste! competition.
The Hansard Society has had a lot of coverage from a variety of media outlets for the report MPs Online: Connecting with Constituents, sponsored by Microsoft, including coverage on BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, BBC Radio 5 Live and the House Magazine. Below is a selection of articles discussing the report.
MPs 'talking, not hearing online' - BBC News
MPs are 'talking, not hearing online' - Public Service
MPs reluctant to use social networking to engage constituents - Computer Weekly
Up to 40 MPs don't use e-mail - Times Online
MPs fail to get onboard with social media - Brand Republic
Net's not clicked yet with MPs - Janet Street-Porter, The Independent
MPs use web to talk, but don't listen, says Hansard. Are you surprised? - Publictechnology.net
MPs Not Very Good At T'Internet Shocker - Iain Dale
MPs born before 1940 are more inclined to blog, says Hansard Society - Guardian
MP bloggers: transmit but do they receive? - Labourhome
Why isn't my MP on Facebook? - Guardian Comment is Free
Scottish MP blogger online for an Orwell - Times Online
MPs born before 1940 are more inclined to blog, says Hansard Society - Guardian Online
How digitally literate are our politicians? - PeoplePoints
MPs online: the dawn of direct democracy? - Windows Live
New Hansard Society research shows MPs are not utilising the power of online media to engage with constituents
At the Channel 4 Political Awards, held in association with the Hansard Society, Rt Hon David Blunkett MP accepted the prestigious Hansard Society Democracy Award on behalf of the late Sir Bernard Crick.
Sir Bernard was nominated for the annual Hansard Society Democracy Award, which celebrates individuals or organisations which have advanced understanding of, and engagement in, parliamentary democracy.
David Blunkett paid tribute to the work of Sir Bernard, in particular the influential Crick report which led to the introduction of citizenship as a national curriculm subject to teach young people about active citizenship.
The Award was presented by Peter Riddell, Chair of the Hansard Society.
‘Citizens or Consumers - which does a democracy need more?'
Hansard Society public meeting
Wednesday 28 January 2009, 6pm
Portcullis House, Westminster
Presented at Channel 4 Political Awards
The shortlist for the Hansard Society Democracy Award for the individual or
organisation which has advanced understanding of and engagement in
parliamentary democracy is:
- Professor Bernard Crick
- David Davis MP
- June Sarpong (for her website Politics in the City)
The Hansard Society has published a Briefing Paper to coincide with Thursday's Lords debate on ‘Enhancing Parliament's ability to communicate with members of the public'.
The findings from the first Youth Citizenship Commission/HeadsUp online forum, which ran 17 November - 5 December, revealed that young
people using the forum felt that politics and politicians don't relate to their
lives enough. One young person said I am keen on debating and campaigning, and
finding ways to help combat issues...but what is it to do with politics?
New research from the Hansard Society, Parliament and the Public: Knowledge, Interest and Perceptions published today, reveals strikingly low levels of knowledge about Parliament among the British public and highlights the need for a more representative Parliament:
If you're after some fresh ideas on how to teach young
people about politics, come along to the FREE EU
and All That conference, tailor-made for citizenship
teachers.
John Harris, when discussing class politics in the Guardian, referred to the speech made by Hazel Blears at Hansrad Society's Revitalising Politics conference on 5/6 November.
Action
needed on ‘equality guarantees'
13 November 2008
Fiona Booth, Chief Executive of the Hansard Society said: ‘We welcome the Speaker's
Conference announced today and urge parliamentarians to seize this opportunity
to rise to the challenge of ensuring that Westminster
more accurately reflects those it represents.
The Youth Citizenship Commission and HeadsUp
The Youth
Citizenship Commission has chosen the Hansard Society's online forum - HeadsUp - as the ideal place to consult directly with young
people. The Commission has been set up by the Prime Minister to look at what
British citizenship means to young people and how central government can better
engage with them as citizens. It will report its findings back to the PM taking
young people's views right to the top of Government.
The Revitalising Politics conference took place on November 5/6 2008 in Parliament and attracted considerable media attention. It was organised by the Hansard Society and Professors Gerry Stoker (University of Southampton) and Colin Hay (University of Sheffield).
Under-18s debate the issues with legislators
Under-18s tackled a variety of immigration issues in a secure and structured online debate, Immigration and the UK: What effect has it had on Britain?, organised by the Hansard Society from 29 September - 17 October, 2008 at http://www.headsup.org.uk/
A hung parliament would ‘put an end to arrogant centralised government'
Speaking at the Political Studies Association/Hansard Society Annual Lecture last night, Clare Short MP said that public cynicism with the political system can only be overcome by a hung parliament with no party having an overall majority.
Rt Hon Clare Short MP
gives Political Studies Association/Hansard Society Annual Lecture
Wednesday October 29, 6.30pm, Portcullis House
Making Politics Fit For Purpose
Hansard Society research shows that men
tend to overestimate their actual political knowledge
On the other hand women tend to
underestimate how much they know about politics. For example, while the
percentage of men claiming that they know about politics is nearly 20 points
higher than that of women, the proportion that can name their MP is only 6
points higher (47% versus 41%).
Channel 4/Hansard Society fringe meeting at SNP conference
Saturday October 18
12.30-1.30pm at the Royal George Hotel, Perth
People Like Us: Is Scottish Society fairly reflected in Holyrood?
Chair: Joyce McMillan (The Scotsman)
Young people debate immigration with legislators
Follow the online debate at http://www.headsup.org.uk/
Under-18s are tackling a variety of immigration issues in a secure and structured online debate, organised by the Hansard Society. Immigration and the UK will run from 29 September - 17 October, 2008 at http://www.headsup.org.uk/
Hansard Society/Channel 4 joint fringe meetings at this year's party conferences
Liberal Democrats
Monday September 15, 6.15pm at the Bourne Hall Hotel, Priory Road, Bournemouth
Speakers: Lord Dhlokia, Chris Huhne MP, Simon Hughes MP, Lembit Opik MP, Jo Swinson MP. Chair: Katie Razzall, Channel 4 News
Labour
Monday September 22, 6pm at Jury's Inn, Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester
Speakers: Dawn Butler MP, Harriet Harman MP, Peter Oborne (Channel 4 Dispatches), Lord Soley (ex- Chair, PLP). Chair: Faisal Islam, Channel 4 News
Conservatives
Tuesday September 30, 6.30pm at the Copthorne Hotel, Paradise Circus Birmingham
Speakers: Iain Dale (Total Politics), Julie Kirkbride MP, Eleanor Laing MP, Theresa May MP, Baroness Warsi. Chair: Katie Razzall, Channel 4 News
Digital Dialogues 3, a new report from the Hansard Society, shows that government can successfully use the internet to engage, consult and build public trust - providing it is willing to use an experimental and adaptable approach to online engagement.
The Hansard Society is once again joining forces with Channel 4 to host three fringe meetings at this year's party conferences on the topic People Like Us: Is British Society fairly reflected in Parliament?
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR THESE MEETINGS
A new book from the Hansard Society, Law in the Making: Influence and Change in the Legislative Process, analyses the elements that come together to make an act of Parliament and concludes that the widely-held view of Parliament as a ‘rubber stamp' for government legislation bears little resemblance to reality.
The coalition celebrates 80 years of universal suffrage
On 2 July 2008,
members of the 2008: Women and the Vote
campaign (1) will celebrate the 80th birthday of women finally winning
equal voting rights as men (2).
With universal
suffrage now eight decades old, the coalition partners are drawing attention to
both the progress and the barriers still faced by women in British politics.
The alliance
has now called on the British, Scottish and Welsh Governments, and political
parties to put gender inequality back to the top of their agendas.
Fiona Booth, Chief Executive,
Hansard Society:
‘This
anniversary is a milestone for how far women have come in the last 80 years but
also highlights how much further we have to go to achieve equal political
representation between the genders. I would like to call on the major political
parties and the House of Commons authorities to work together to encourage more
women to stand for Parliament and make the House a more female friendly place.
We all need to tackle the pervasive
culture of acceptance that means currently only one in five of our MPs are
female. More needs to be done if we don't want to find ourselves in the same
position 80 years from now. A well-established democracy like ours should be
leading the international league tables for female representation, not lagging
behind.'
Alex Brazier, joint author of the Hansard Society's 2006 report The Fiscal Maze; Parliament, Government and Public Money will be giving evidence to the Finance Committee's review of the parliamentary budget process on Tuesday June 17.
Transparency and accountability vital for Parliamentary democracy
The Hansard Society welcomes the High Court ruling that MPs should disclose their expenses to the public.
Alex Boughton, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hansard Society commented:
“At a time when trust in our elected representatives is at a very low ebb it is important that politicians are accountable to the public they serve and are seen to be bound by the same conventions as the electorate. Transparency is key to a well functioning democracy and greater openness can only help restore trust in politics and faith that our representatives are spending public money in the most effective way.
“MPs’ expenses are clearly necessary to allow our representatives to serve the electorate to a high standard but it is also important that any abuses of trust are able to be highlighted and dealt with. This ruling is important to sustain Parliamentary democracy and accountability.”
Tuesday 20 May, 6-7.15pm, House of Commons
Speakers:
- Richard Allan, Government Affairs Director, Europe, Cisco Systems
- Bethan Jenkins AM, Member, Petitions Committee
- Rt Hon Greg Knight MP, Chair, Procedure Committee
- Andy Williamson, Director, eDemocracy Programme, Hansard Society
Chair:
- Pete Picton, Online Editor, The Sun
Liaison Committee's recommendations on financial scrutiny a real step forward
The Hansard Society welcomes the House of Commons' Liaison Committee Report on financial scrutiny and urges Parliament to do more to scrutinise and seek accountability for government spending.
Effective diplomacy is vital
Under-18s taking part in a Hansard Society online debate at www.headsup.org.uk felt that overseas conflict must be a last resort and that diplomaticnegotiations should be exhausted before embarking upon any conflict decision.
Mixed messages on political and constitutional reform
The Hansard Society's fifth Audit of Political Engagement, published today, reveals a high level of political ignorance about politics and constitutional arrangements in Britain:
Unique collaborative blog launched to engage with public
http://www.lordsoftheblog.net/
Lords of the Blog [http://www.lordsoftheblog.net/] is a new collaborative online blog, launched and written by Members of the House of Lords to increase public engagement with the work of the Upper House and its Members.
An essential handbook for understanding the effects of a hung parliament
No Overall Control? The impact of a 'hung parliament' on British politics is a timely new publication from the Hansard Society highlighting the challenges facing Parliament, the political parties, individual MPs and the public in the event of a hung parliament at the next election.
If you're under 18 and feel strongly about how we can reduce waste, this is your chance to make your voice heard in Parliament - and win up to £100 for your team. A House of Lords committee has been examining all aspects of waste reduction and is joining forces with the Hansard Society to encourage young people to enter a new competition to present their views on waste and recycling - by video, audio or written submissions. Following the success of last year's essay competition, What a Waste! is being sponsored by the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman, and supported by Parliament's Education Service.
Under-18s are tackling a variety of defence issues in a secure and structured online debate, organised by the Hansard Society. Defence d-day...Should our forces be in Iraq? will run from February 25 to March 14, 2008 at http://www.headsup.org.uk/
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 27
Politicians: A Class Apart or Servants of the People?
Hansard Society meeting examining the role of politicians.
In the first Parliamentary Affairs of 2008, Ross Ferguson, former Director of eDemocracy at the Hansard Society, discusses how online forums can engage citizens with decision makers through the example of case studies run by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Defence Select Committee. The article gives details about how online forums are best used and where they can be most effective, who they appeal to, and how, in certain circumstances, they can be used to engage the ‘unusual suspects’.
Operation Black Vote's Welsh Assembly Shadowing Scheme has won this year's prestigious Hansard Society Democracy Award. The Award was presented by Peter Riddell, Chair of the Hansard Society at the Channel 4 Political Awards ceremony in London on the evening of Wednesday January 23.
Under-18s taking part in a Hansard Society online debate thought that political correctness has gone too far. They concluded that political correctness leads to uncertainty and threatens free speech.
The Hansard Society is delighted to join Channel 4 for the 10th annual Political Awards. The shortlist for the Hansard Society Democracy Award for the individual or organisation which has advanced understanding of parliamentary democracy is:
Ken Clarke will be addressing this question in his inimitable style at The PSA/Hansard Society Annual Lecture on Wednesday December 12, 6pm - 7.30pm at Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster.
To receive further information or to register for this event, please email hans_admin@hansard.lse.ac.uk
A detailed evaluation exercise of the Hansard Society’s HeadsUp innovative website for young people demonstrates a proven way to get young people interested in politics and involved in political debate. The HeadsUp Evaluation Report [PDF, 313KB] is available to download.
Monday November 26,
6.30pm - 7.30pm,
Westminster.
Speakers:
Michael Wills MP, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice;
Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons;
Lord (Paul) Tyler, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs;
Alex Brazier, Director, Hansard Society Parliament and Government programme.
Chair: Peter Riddell, Chair, Hansard Society.
Under-18s are tackling the sensitive subject of discrimination in a secure and structured online debate, organised by the Hansard Society. Discrimination in the UK - Fact or Fiction? will run from November 19 to December 7, 2007 at http://www.headsup.org.uk/
If you're after some fresh ideas on how to teach political literacy, come along to the free EU and All That conference, tailor-made for citizenship teachers.
The Hansard Society today welcomed the commitment to renew the constitutional settlement contained in the Queen's Speech but urged the Government to make implementation of its reform proposals a priority for this parliamentary session.
Under-18s taking part in a Hansard Society online debate were supportive of animal testing in order to find vital cures for diseases. The debate Animal Cruelty – Who Cares? ran from September 17 to October 5, 2007 at www.HeadsUp.org.uk. Parliamentarians and decision-makers from all political parties took part in the debate.
The Hansard Society, the UK’s leading non-partisan political research and education charity, has issued a Briefing Note providing background information on Hansard Society proposals and research relevant to the debate on Thursday October 25.
The Respect? Advisory Group will discuss the campaign’s successful work in conjunction with the British Youth Council and YouthNet in challenging stereotypes of young people. They will also talk about their research into how MPs could better engage with young people. Natascha Engel MP will respond to the young people’s findings and discuss what MPs can do to engage with young people in their constituencies.
Harriet Harman addresses Hansard Society Briefing meeting
At a Hansard Society Briefing today, the Leader of the House of Commons, Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP laid out her priorities to make the House of Commons more representative, more topical and more inclusive.
Given by Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty
Digital Dialogues, a new report from the Hansard Society, evaluates government’s use of social media to connect the public with the policy making process. It concludes that government has made good progress in the past 18 months from a ‘standing start’ and outlines key lessons learnt from 12 case studies, including:
Downloadable from www.digitaldialogues.org.uk