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UK Democracy Bulletin, 18th November 2022

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Fortnightly news, jobs, grants and gossip from the democracy sector, brought to you by James Moulding, Max Roche and Louise Dunmore. The UK Democracy Bulletin is a joint project of The Centre for Democracy and UK Democracy Network. Read by 400+ democracy organisations. We read everyone’s newsletters & research so you don’t have to. If you want us to cover yours, let us know: hello@centrefordemocracy.org.uk

Highlights

  • Postal Voting not to be included in May 2023 Voter ID implementation
  • Voter ID renewed discussions
  • Notwestminster 2023 announced
  • Electoral Reform Society conference announced
  • Democracy Network conference & coworking day
  • Democracy Meetup on pause until 15th December

In case you missed it…

Join us for our Democracy Coworking Day on December 9th at Newspeak House as part of the wider Democracy Network Conference activities.

Thanks to our contributors

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our Democracy Meetup. This week we were joined by Oliver Walkden — Young Citizens, Perry Walker — TalkShop, Myf Nixon — mySociety, Joe Mitchell — Public Interest News Foundation, Martyn Harris — North Warwickshire Borough Council, Diane Sims — Notwestminster, Rebecca Deegan — I Have A Voice, Natasha Kaeda — 50:50 Parliament, Charlie Mansell — The Campaign Company, Ed Hammond — Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, Jessica Kennedy — New Economy Organisers Network and Titus Alexander — Democracy Matters.

Sign the Ecosystem Pledge

The Ecosystem Pledge is a statement of intent, now backed by 74 signatory organisations from across the democracy sector, including Involve, Unlock Democracy, mySociety and 50:50 Parliament. Together, we pledge:

We are individuals and organisations working to improve democracy in the UK. We acknowledge that there are many other organisations working towards the same goal. We believe that, if we want things to change, we need to start talking to each other more.

We are glad to welcome Graham Smith, CEO of Republic as our latest pledge.

If you would like to add you and your organisation’s name to the list of signatories, please email pledge@centrefordemocracy.org.uk.

Democracy Sector

Democracy Network Annual Conference, 7–8th December

We’re just three weeks away from Democracy Network’s first annual conference on Dec 7th & 8th in London. The conference will include a series of workshops, panels and activities, including the Network’s own Democracy Awards. Reserve your spot for the conference. If you’re interested in hosting a workshop or taking an exhibition space at the conference contact Democracy Network via their registration page.

Democracy Coworking Day, 9th December

As part of this year’s December democracy extravaganza, UK Democracy Coworking Day is back to top off the week’s programme of events, activities and awards. Coming down for the conference anyway? Spend your last day in London working alongside other organisations working on UK democratic reform, it’ll be a great opportunity to connect and reflect on the week’s events.

Democracy Network hires new Network Development Lead

Democracy Network hires new Network Development Lead to support Network Coordinator Jessie Joe Jacobs and the team in their work of strengthening connections across the UK democracy sector. James Moulding — currently Director at the Centre for Democracy — will be starting the new role just in time for the Network’s first Democracy Conference this December.

Democracy Meetup on pause until 15th December

Due to the changes above, the Centre for Democracy’s current projects and programmes will be brought under the aegis of the Democracy Network. Whilst we make the slight but necessary changes, we have paused this month’s remaining Democracy Meetup. Please join us again at the upcoming Democracy Network conference and at our next Meetup on the 15th December.

New directory of UK democracy organisations

The Centre for Democracy contributes to the upkeep and promotion of a UK directory of democracy organisations — an open database of more than 870 organisations and campaigns working to build a better democracy in the United Kingdom. The mapping includes legacy organisations that are no longer active, as well as those that have ceded from the democracy space. The map supports the development of a shared picture of the definition and size of the sector and helps people to connect with others working on similar issues and objectives. The UK directory has been developed using publicly available information, if you’d like to make a change or suggestion, email us at hello@centrefordemocracy.org.uk — View the map.

Stand with 50:50 on #AskHerToStand Day, 21st November

Natasha Kaeda, Frances Scott and the incredible team at 50:50 Parliament will be running a big social media campaign across all channels next Monday — find out more here and get involved! That’s not all, 50:50 and Elect Her are now working together on party-specific resources to help women progress in politics, exciting!

Notwestminster 2023 is coming

Join Notwestminster on the 18th Feb 2023 in Huddersfield for a celebration of local democracy and exploration of how to nurture active citizens — Want to host a workshop? Get in touch.

Democracy academic collaboration project nears completion

George Bolton, University of Southampton, and Dr Graham Smith, Centre for the Study of Democracy — University of Westminster, have been running a participatory research project focused on improving the collaborative working arrangements between academics and democracy practitioners in the UK. After seven months, the project Collaboration for Democratic Change is undergoing final review before publication. Email George Bolton to find out more.

Young Citizens hiring

Big changes at Young Citizens as they hire a new Chair of Trustees, Director of Partnerships and Engagement and a Data and Communications Officer to assist in delivering their mock trials and active citizenship programmes. Find out more and apply now.

Royal Society of the Arts opens consultation of their new strategy

RSA Fellow Titus Alexander draws some lessons for the RSA from their forty years of experience working with change agencies at the local, national and the global level. Read Titus’ analyses here.

Shared Future examine the difference made by a Climate Change Citizens Jury

Two years after Kendal’s first Climate Citizens’ Jury Shared Future returned to assess the progress made as a result of greater communication between local authorities, citizens, and the not-for-profit sector. With significant changes made in the two years, the Kendal Climate Citizens Jury demonstrates successful jury process, collaboration and community power in action.

I Have A Voice are looking for a Community and Engagement Officer

Apply now to work alongside Rebecca Deegan and the amazing IHAV team opening up politics and policymaking.

Over 3000 offensive tweets sent to MPs each day, BBC investigation reveals

An investigation by the BBC has unearthed the scale of online abuse facing MPs. Analysis of three million tweets directed at MPs over six weeks found that 130,000 were likely to be toxic and 20,000 ‘severely toxic’. All 20 MPs who received the highest levels of online abuse were in neither the cabinet nor the shadow cabinet. MP Jess Philips said criticism was a necessary part of the job but there now exists a culture in which politicians are scared to share their views for fear of online abuse.

IPPR and Unlock Democracy discuss: Why isn’t our politics working and how can we fix it?

On Wednesday 30th of November IPPR and Unlock Democracy are hosting an in-person event at Broadway House in London to discuss the current crisis of our political system. Joined on the night by Sir Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tom Brake, Director of Unlock Democracy and Carys Roberts, Executive Director of IPPR, attendees will hear about how we increase trust in politics and restore the foundations of our democracy.

Roundtable discussion on political literacy to be held on Monday 5th of December

On the 5th of December, Shout Out UK will be celebrating Political Literacy Day with an event in parliament to celebrate the work being done to improve political literacy amongst the youth and discuss the challenges and solutions to quality democratic education across the UK. Joined by the chairs of the APPG for Political Literacy and other civil society stakeholders, the talk will be followed by a roundtable discussion with the chance to join in person and online. Check out the full details and reserve a spot at the discussion.

Electoral Reform Society to host their annual supporter conference in December

The Electoral Reform Society is hosting its 2022 Conference and AGM in Cardiff on Saturday 3rd December where they’ll be joined by academic Professor Ailsa Henderson from the University of Edinburgh and Mick Antoniw MS, Council General and Minister for the Constitution. Across the day there will be a series of talks and workshops exploring the crises, challenges, and opportunities facing UK democracy, as well as plenty of networking opportunities. Be sure to register for the free conference asap!

Democratic Reform

MP Richard Burgon proposes bill to allow public to directly call a general election

Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, has proposed a new constitutional mechanism to allow the general public to directly call a general election in cases where they have lost faith in the governing party, calling it a ‘scar on our democracy’ that such a mechanism does not currently exist. Burgon aims to introduce the Bill in the coming weeks with details of a ‘right of recall’ which he believes will be fundamental to restoring faith and trust in democracy at a time when both are at an all-time low.

Unlock Democracy calls for amended legislation to allow constituents chance to fire absent MPs

Following news that Matt Hancock could be absent for up to three weeks whilst appearing on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Unlock Democracy has launched a petition to amend the Recall of MPs Act 2015. The amendment would allow constituents to recall absent MPs if 10% of constituents sign it, triggering a by-election and a docking of the MP’s pay.

European Digital Democracy Database

An international volunteer effort composed of some 40 analysts have collected, composed and reviewed more than 1,000 digital democracy projects across Europe. Access the database.

New briefing outlines which seats will change under the 2023 boundary review

New research from Carl Baker and Elise Uberoi from the House of Commons Library looks at which constituencies are proposed to change under the 2023 Boundary Review. They’ve found that under current plans, one in seven constituencies would retain 99% of their current population, whilst one in nine constituencies would have less than 60% similarity to the successor constituency. Find out more.

Integrity & Transparency

New mySociety research finds 1 in 10 people have made an FOI request!

Alex Parsons, Senior Researcher at mySociety, reports that newly commissioned polling by Opinium reports that 10% of UK adults have used Freedom of Information requests to try and get access to information. If inclusive of those using FOI for work, the figure increases to 14%.

Gavin Williamson resigns over bullying allegations

Gavin Williamson has resigned as Minister of State without Portfolio following a slew of bullying allegations in which he allegedly told a civil servant to ‘slit your throat’ and told another official to ‘jump out of a window’. In his resignation letter Williamson refuted the ‘characterisation of these claims’ but recognised that the controversy was drawing attention and resources away from the Government’s key priorities.

Trust in British politics in freefall according to IPPR polling

According to recent polling from IPPR, two in three voters now say that politicians are ‘out for themselves’ rather than serving ‘the interests of the country’. This sentiment was consistent across a number of key demographics: leave voters 68%, remain voters 67%, Conservative 64%, Labour 69%, London 60%, the North 69%, Scotland 70%, middle class 65%, and working-class 66%. Trust in British politics has fallen by 9 percentage points over the last 18 months according to IPPR. By comparison, it took roughly 7 years for the previous fall of a similar scale and 42 years for the one before that.

The Independent Monitoring Authority take the Government to court over EU citizen’s rights in the UK

The Independent Monitoring Authority, a statutory body set up to protect the rights of EU citizens settled in the country before Brexit, has taken the Government to court over their implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. They argue that the way the Government has implemented the Withdrawal Agreement means people with rights enshrined in law will be denied these rights unless they reapply for permanent or settled status. This means 2.6m people with ‘pre-settled’ status risk detention or removal from the country unless they apply for the ‘upgrade’.

Elections

Postal voting will not be included in the Voter ID implementation for May 2023 elections

According to Martyn Harris, Head of Elections at North Warwickshire Borough Council, postal voting — or early voting — will not be included in the Voter ID implementation ahead of May 2023. Whilst postal voting is included in the Elections Act, its implementation will come later.

Byelections postponed as pre-election period begins

In those areas holding council elections in May 2023, byelections will now be postponed and superseded by the local elections. Note that local byelections in Wales, Scotland, London and areas not up for election in May will still be held as normal and ignore the 6-month pre-election period. Thanks to the Democracy Club Slack community and Martyn Harris for the legislative reference.

It’s London Voter Registration Week 2022!

This week London’s City Hall teamed up with Shout Out UK for London Voter Registration Week. London Boroughs and organisations across the city including the East European Resource Centre, Lambeth Democracy and Tigray Youth Network, to name but a few, pulled together to highlight the importance of registering to vote over social media airwaves across the city and outside tube stations and public spaces. Lara Parizotto and the team at Migrant Democracy Project even took to Stratord in East London with their voter registration dance.

Democracy Meetup spawns renewed discussions on Voter ID

Last week’s meetup saw a vibrant discussion on all aspects of the upcoming Voter ID implementation. During the discussion concerns were raised about democracy organisations trying to work on Voter ID awareness raising in a short time frame close to the election and that action should be taken now to think through ‘how to stop hares running’ and applying for a form of ID voters don’t need. Jess Kennedy, Director of Movement Building, New Economy Organisers Network, raised the spectre of campaign groups and local authority services saying competing things about the problems and issues facing voters, potentially causing distrust between groups. Key takeaways from the discussion included consideration of a Voter ID coordination / fact-checking group and an event or roundtable to discuss issues arising. Would you like to know more?

Officials warn of election chaos if voter IDs are mandated for May election

Election officials and councillors have called on the government to delay the introduction of Voter IDs due to fears that a short timetable and a lack of clarity over regulations could prevent thousands from voting. The rule that all voters would need to show ID became law under the Elections Act 2022, passed in April this year. The Electoral Reform Society has joined with Unlock Democracy and Hands of Our Vote to call for an inquiry into the implementation of the voter ID by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Labour dissolves local selection panel in row over Camberwell and Peckham seat

The Labour Party has dissolved a local selection panel following accusations that the panel leaked details on the selected candidates to a local news website. The selection process for Harriett Harman’s seat had already come under scrutiny after anti-racism campaigner Maurice Mcleod was blocked from standing over reported concerns about his social media activity. Last week Kensington also had their selection committee dissolved in similar circumstances.

MPs increasingly hail from the constituency they represent, according to new research

New research (paywalled) from Queen Mary has revealed that the number of MPs born in the same constituency they represent has increased from 45–52% over the last decade.

Devolved Democracy & Local Government

Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill published

The bill proposes extending Freedom of Information legislation in Scotland coverage to all bodies delivering public services, services of a public nature and publicly funded services, creating a role of Freedom of Information officer; increasing the proactive publication of information; improving enforcement where necessary and improving compliance with human rights law. Responses to the proposed bill are welcome until the 2nd February.

Centre for Governance and Scrutiny running webinars for local authorities

Ed Hammond, Acting CEO, Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, is preparing a series of webinars on scrutiny of local authority finances and health services for elected councillors. In addition to this they’re working on finalising a set of guides for councils on redrafting and improving their constitutional material to make it more accessible. Get in touch with Ed to find out more.

Is it time for Wales to change its voting system?

In a report published by the Electoral Reform Society, Jess Blair makes a compelling case for changing the Welsh system by contrasting the First Past the Post elections in Wales with the proportional Single Transferable Vote elections in Scotland.

Institute for Government asks: What tools do local areas need to boost regional growth?

On the 5th December Institute for Government are hosting an panel discussion exploring which powers could be devolved to regional authorities to aid local growth. Participants will also consider whether power should be devolved to councils or combined authorities and how the Government can empower subnational governments through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

UK Government announces new round of austerity with damaging impacts for local services

Polly Billington, Chief Executive at UK100, remarks that the return to austerity will ‘alarm local leaders up and down the country still grappling with the effects of the first round of spending cuts almost a decade ago’. Last month, Local Government Association Chairman Cllr James Jamieson, voiced concerns over increasing council cost pressures and the impact on service delivery, saying ‘reserves can only be spent once, a local service cannot be cut twice.’

Democracy & Media

IMPRESS to launch News Literacy Report on 30th November

In collaboration with the Universities of Leeds and Derby, IMPRESS have been researching public perceptions and attitudes towards the current news landscape. Their new report takes a closer look at the public experience of news mediums, levels of media literacy, trust levels, and more. On the 30th of November, IMPRESS will host a free online event to launch and discuss the report — don’t miss out.

Public Interest News Foundation push ahead with UK Local News Map

Joe Mitchell and the team at PINF are preparing their directory of UK local news organisations, which will soon become a snazzy interactive map — they’re on the lookout for anyone with experience of Datawrapper / Flourish — Get in touch.

Society of Editors ‘strongly condemn’ arrest of journalists covering Just Stop Oil protests

LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch, documentary filmmaker Rich Felgate, and photographer Tom Bowles are all reported to have been arrested whilst covering the recent Just Stop Oil protests. Dawn Alford, Executive Director of the Society of Editors, spoke out against the affront on press freedom saying ‘the protests are a source of legitimate public interest and journalists, filmmakers and photographers have a right to attend protests and report on behalf of the public. We strongly condemn the arrest of journalists in the course of their work.’ The press arrests received widespread coverage in national news media.

Culture Secretary promises to push ahead with repeal of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act

Speaking at the Media Freedom Awards, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan confirmed that the government would be pushing ahead with plans to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 as well as adding legislation to the Online Safety Bill to ‘protect journalists’. Plans to repeal section 40 were initially announced in the Queen’s speech in May and were met with scepticism from media campaign groups who maintain that the legislation is key to ensuring both press and public freedom.

Byline Times examine Musk’s Twitter takeover with former Twitter executive

As Elon Musk continues to make headlines for his controversial Twitter takeover, Adrian Goldberg from the Byline Times has interviewed former Twitter executive Bruce Daisley on the company’s new owner and the threat to democracy he poses.

Funding Democracy

UK Democracy Fund call for proposals: University support for electoral registration

The Fund plans to commission rapid research on the state of university support for students to register to vote and participate in elections in England. The resulting report will be used to highlight the need for improved student registration practices and higher rates of student voter registration and turnout. Please contact the UK Democracy Fund for more information.

And Finally…

Mehr Demokratie

Perry Walker at TalkShop recommends checking out German democracy organisation Mehr Demokratie. With more than 40 staff, 10,000 active members and more than 200,000 participants in their activities, MD is perhaps the largest NGO advocating for direct democracy and active citizenship worldwide. Mehr Demokratie pushes for the expansion of direct democracy across the federal states of Germany.

Civil society groups accuse Egyptian officials of intimidation and surveillance at COP27

Members of civil society groups report being subject to intimidation and surveillance whilst attending COP27. Speaking anonymously to the Guardian, one individual said, “mentioning activism in conversation means you get ‘cleaners’ and technical staff coming over to you.” The issues described by numerous sources mirror the situation faced by Egyptian civil society groups who have reported a significant crackdown on their organising capacity in recent years.

The Centre for Democracy maintains a full database of events from across the democracy sector.

View the database here — Have we missed something? Add it here!

Active Job Listings across the Democracy Sector

View the full database of upcoming job listings here — have we missed any? Add them via this form.

Apply ASAP

Jobs with upcoming deadlines

Unsalaried job listings #ShowTheSalary

We’ve been experimenting with the format of this email and the accompanying meetup, if you have any feedback we’d be glad to hear it.

If you can’t make our weekly meetup, you can always drop in to the meetup document of the current fortnight and add to it by going to democracymeetup.org.uk.

See you next time, add to your calendar

James, Max, Louise and the UK Democracy Bulletin team