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
Editors’ Notes
- The Hansard Society is the UK’s leading independent, non-partisan political research and education charity.
- The Hansard Society Digital Democracy Programme’s thought-leading research has been a formative part of an emergent digital Britain from the internet’s impact on Parliament, to better government engagement with citizens and the potential for civil society to harness digital media. The Digital Democracy Programme undertakes research and produces publications and commentaries with a focus on online political communication and citizen engagement, exploring the many faces of digital inclusion, citizen engagement, political campaigning and parliamentary process.
- Read more about the Hansard Society’s recommendations on ePetitions – ePetitions a Step Closer for Parliament and Parliamentary Reform Briefing Paper