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UK Democracy Bulletin, 3rd February 2023

UK Democracy Bulletin, 3rd February 2023
The Politics Project’s Democratic Education General Election Strategy Day, 25th January 2023

Fortnightly news, jobs, grants and gossip from across the democracy sector, brought to you by James Moulding, Louise Dunmore and Max Roche of the 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: democracynetwork@involve.org.uk

Highlights

  • Notwestminster book your tickets — 18th Feb, Huddersfield
  • Scottish Parliament consultation on public participation, closes 10th February
  • Make Votes Matter announce 24th May Lobby of Parliament
  • The Politics Project convene General Election strategy day for democratic education orgs
  • Media Democracy Festival returns 25th March
  • Tortoise Media Westminster Accounts release bombshell financial data
  • Voter ID democracy sector orgs mobilise to raise awareness
  • Civic Power Fund Community Action Fund closes 26th Feb

Thanks to our contributors

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our Democracy Meetup. We were joined by Joseph Gaunt — E-lectorate Project, John Preston, Perry Walker — Talk Shop, Titus Alexander — Democracy Matters, Ed Hammond — Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, Diane Sims — Notwestminster, Amna Ahmad — UK Democracy Network, Alex Bulat — Migrant Democracy Project, Ed Watson, Harry Hayfield — Wales Green Party, Josiah Mortimer — Byline Times, Jéssica Kranz Barcelos — Mogi Das Cruzes, Ed Dowding — Represent.me.

Upcoming Legislation

Peers set to frustrate attempts to scrap thousands of EU laws by end of the year

Members of the House of Lords have raised concerns over the practicality of reviewing thousands of pieces of EU legislation by the end of 2023 and are preparing to slow down government attempts to do so. Downing Street has refused to reconsider the end of year deadline contained within the Retained EU Law Bill and on the 18th of January, the bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons. The bill now passes to the House of Lords for consideration.

Bill proposing statutory code of conduct has first reading in the House of Commons

Labour MP, Debbie Abrahams, has introduced the Elected Representatives (Code of Conduct) Bill to parliament with the intention of bringing in a statutory code of conduct for elected representatives. The bill also proposes that an independent body of legal experts is created to advise on this process. The independent body will be informed by a citizens’ assembly to give the public a say in how elected representatives should conduct themselves.

UK Government introduces Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill across public services to quell strike action

Under the new ‘anti-strike’ legislation, Secretary of State for BEIS Grant Shapps will decide new statutory minimum service requirements across a range of public services limiting the capacity of workers to strike. If the minimum service requirements are not met then striking workers could be laid off by the employer under the terms of the new bill. Mick Lynch called the legislation ‘an attack on human rights and civil liberties’, whilst the Trade Union Law Group has said the new legislation breaches international treaties and the human rights convention. According to the law group, any attempts to implement the legislation could see the government dragged through the courts. Over 160,000 people have now signed Enough is Enough’s petition opposing the legislation.

Sunak tables amendment to Public Order Bill to crack down on ‘guerilla’ protest tactics

The new amendment would see tactics used predominantly by environmental protestors such as ‘slow walks’ criminalised. The Bill also contains new laws which would allow the police to crack down on planned protests before they have actually taken place. Campaigners have expressed outrage at the latest plans with Liberty Director Martha Spurrier remarking the new proposals ‘should be seen for what they are: a desperate attempt to shut down any route for ordinary people to make their voices heard’. The bill entered the report stage in the House of Lords on 30th January 2023.

Public Order Bill

Reports that Labour are wobbling on the Public Order Bill, potentially withdrawing support for key amendments. Efforts are now shifting from gaining Conservative and cross-bench support to focusing on Labour Lords and the shadow frontbench.

Online Safety Bill passes third reading in House of Commons

The final Commons Report stage took place on January 17th. After a rebel amendment to the bill gained opposition support, the government agreed to amendments. The changes now mean senior managers at tech firms will face criminal charges if they fail to adequately protect children from online harm. The bill now passes to the House of Lords.

Democracy Sector

Notwestminster is coming, announces first workshops

If you haven’t already, you can still grab your free ticket to Notwestminster 2023: In Democracy We Trust on 18th Feb in Huddersfield — details of lightning talks and participant-led workshops are now available on the website. Ahead of the event they’re asking people who cherish local democracy to answer this one simple question: what helps you to trust?

The Politics Project host General Election Strategy Conference for democratic education orgs

The special event convened by The Politics Project saw dozens of organisations from across the UK descend upon the central London venue, showcasing the breadth and diversity of the democratic education and youth engagement space, with organisations ranging from the Northern Ireland Youth Forum, the Association of Colleges, to the UK Parliament Education and Engagement Team. The day centred around preparing for the upcoming General Election with discussions centred around voter registration, voter ID concerns and negotiating questions of political impartiality and neutrality whilst delivering quality political education resources. The event was funded and supported by Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust as part of their ‘A Million More’ drive.

Amna Ahmad begins work on supporting the sector to coordinate around the General Election

Amna Ahmad, UK Democracy Network’s new Campaigns and Advocacy Lead, is consulting sector organisations to coordinate action around engagement with political parties ahead of the GE. The first step involves engagement with the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum (NPF) process, following in the wake of the publication of the Gordon Brown Constitutional Review. The NPF consultation process is now open and reportedly closes on 17 March. Would you like to know more? Pop Amna an email.

Centre for Governance and Scrutiny to host in-person conference in June

The conference will take place on 14 June 2023, at the King’s Fund and will bring together colleagues in the local government space to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing local democracy. Check out the full agenda and book your tickets now.

Democracy Club’s Every Election gets a new lick of paint

Peter Keeling and the team at Democracy Club have been busy undertaking a comprehensive redesign of their Every Election (EE) database. The new site features a new design system, a revision of election IDs in light of the boundary reviews and voting system updates — but most importantly of all, maps! All election pages on EE now provide an interactive ‘leaflet’ map of the relevant area of division. Check it out.

Just two weeks left for applications for the New Institute’s Future of Democracy fellowships

The New Institute is an experimental initiative aimed at developing social imaginaries for future societies, combining academic rigour and innovative practice. The Institute hosts up to 35 fellows at their site Warburg Ensemble in Hamburg. They are currently seeking 21 fellows across three programme areas, including Depolarising Public Debates, Governing the Planetary Commons, and Conceptions of Human Flourishing. Find out more and apply here, applications close on 16th February.

Charlotte Obijiaku moves on from Involve to take up new role at TPXimpact

Project Officer at the Involve Foundation, Charlotte Obijiaku will take up a new role at TPXimpact as a Deliberative Democracy Officer to support their growing portfolio of deliberative democracy projects.

50:50 and Power Done Differently launch new podcast

The podcast sets out to explore why women should pursue roles in politics and how power can be reinvented by women. The podcast is streaming on all major platforms.

National Rejoin March is organising a pro-rejoin day in March

On Saturday 23rd of March, National Rejoin March is organising a day of pro-rejoin activity around the whole of the UK. They’re looking for volunteers to help coordinate activities in their local areas. Sign up on their website if you’re keen.

Democratic Innovation & Reform

Scottish Parliament’s Citizens’ Panel on Participation recommendations, consultation closing 10th February

As part of the Scottish Parliament’s development of its capacity to deliver deliberative engagement over recent years, Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee have been running an inquiry into public participation. As part of that process, a Citizens’ Panel on Participation was commissioned and has since published their report detailing 17 recommendations. An 8-week consultation has now been launched on the Parliament’s Your Priorities platform, with a 10th February deadline for responses.

POMOC and Involve win grants to deliver on London Civic Data Innovation Challenge

Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC) and Involve have both won £10k grants to deliver key platforms of the Greater London Authority’s Civic Data Innovation Challenge. POMOC are delivering a pilot survey measuring the diversity of local councillors across London, whilst Involve will develop a toolkit which enables local decision makers to define what types of deliberative and participatory processes they are using, and to identify the impacts on themselves and local communities.

Make Votes Matter announce 24th May Lobby of Parliament

On Wednesday May 24th, the Make Votes Matter Alliance are pulling together to demonstrate public support for electoral reform. Their new campaign, Sort the System — the Public Lobby for Equal Votes will see a public launch in the next few months, with an aim to marshall the wide array of pro-PR organisations and lobby for PR at a time when political parties will be penning their manifestos ahead of the next General Election. Don’t miss MVM’s Democracy Loves Climate Justice session next Tuesday, grab your ticket.

Scottish Government opens online consultation on electoral reform

The Scottish Government’s consultation on electoral reform considers possible improvements to electoral law, such as whether 16–17 year olds should be allowed to stand for election, as well as being able to vote, as well as a number of possible changes to assist candidates in local elections, increase voter registration and accessibility in elections, including the possibility of Digital Polling Cards (Brighton & Hove tested this a few years back with positive results).

Electoral Integrity Project publish new report The UK’s Electoral Data Democratic Deficit

Penned by Toby James and Paul Bernal of the University of East Anglia, the report outlines the electoral democratic data deficit and its wider consequences for UK democracy. The report found six key aspects behind the UK’s electoral data deficit, ranging from unworkable data formats (marked registers still being published in hard copy only) to the current electoral data infrastructure largely held up civil society groups (such as Democracy Club) who lack secure funding, and whose work should really be the preserve of statutory public electoral bodies. You can read the report here. The report was funded by the UK Democracy Fund.

The Fawcett Society call for modernisation in parliament to make it more gender inclusive

The Fawcett Society has released a new report based on new survey data and interviews conducted with current and former Members of Parliament. They report that 69% of women MPs and 49% of all MPs have witnessed sexist behaviour in Parliament in the last five years and 73% of women MPs said they ‘do not use social media to speak on certain issues because of the abusive environment online’. They recommend a series of reforms towards the creation of a more inclusive parliament including calls for an amendment to the Online Safety Bill to better address the disproportionate levels of online abuse experienced by women.

Represent.me v2 on the horizon

Ed Dowding, Product Innovation at Represent.me, is working with Frome Town Council and councils in Wales to establish what Represent v2 might look like. Ed and the team are looking for a pragmatic and finance focused cofounder. If this sounds like you, pop them an email.

Talk Shop experimenting with Pol.is, reflecting on predictive policing

Next Wednesday Perry Walker and the team at Talk Shop will be utilising their Win-Win Workout method to reflect on the emerging practice of predictive policing — join them and register for the event here. In other news they’re also looking into Pol.is to find common ground between political parties in the UK, stay tuned for more on this.

Starmer’s plans for Lords reform will create an ‘arm wrestle’ for power, says Speaker of the Commons

In an interview with LBC just before Christmas, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle broke his traditionally neutral position to criticise Labour’s plans for an elected second chamber. He suggested the plans would create an ‘arm wrestle’ for power between the two chambers with both the House of Commons and the Lords vying for supremacy. For more information on Labour’s plans, check out this new research briefing by Richard Kelly of the House of Commons Library which takes a closer look at the government’s attitude towards House of Lords reform and the current system of peerage appointments.

Calls for the regulation of political adverts increase

Compassion in Politics has joined with Reform Political Advertising to call for greater regulation of political advertising after it emerged that the Conservative Party had put out leaflets bearing a striking resemblance with Green Party advertising. The campaign group wrote to the Conservative Party Chairman asking for reform following what they described as attempts to deliberately mislead voters.

Will Labour change the voting system? The New Statesman invites the Electoral Reform Society to find out

In the recent edition of the New Statesman podcast, Director of Policy and Research at the Electoral Reform Society, Jess Garland, joins Anoosh Chakelian to discuss all things voter reform. The pair unpick the significance of the past year in which support for proportional representation reached new heights, discussing where the main parties now stand on this issue.

Proportional Representation leads to greater income equality, says King’s College professor

Dr Sandher, Economist and Political Scientist at Kings, argues in an article for Progressive Britain that adopting proportional representation leads to greater levels of income equality.

Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform set out their strategy for how to achieve proportional representation

LDER hosted an event on 17th Jan to discuss how PR can be achieved ahead of the next election and the implications of Labour adopting PR as a manifesto pledge. Check out the recording if you missed it, as well as this interview with Tom Brake, Director of Unlock Democracy, who discusses with the Editor of Bright Green why proportional representation is important and what a new democratic settlement should look like.

E-lectorate building new digital democracy platform

Project Director Joseph Gaunt and the team at E-lectorate are working on a new digital direct democracy tool to increase democratic participation via digital tools. E-lectorate are currently looking for user testers, partnerships and feedback, if you’re interested email Joseph.

Integrity & Transparency

Tortoise Media’s Westminster Accounts release bombshell financial data

Sky News and Tortoise Media have released a new interactive database detailing the earnings and donations declared by any MP, political party, APPG or donor since the 2019 General Election. This is the first time such data has been made available, allowing the public to easily see the total sums of donations and earnings for individual MPs — something which was previously very difficult to collate and compare due to the way the registers are published.

UK drops to lowest ever position on Corruption Perceptions Index

The UK has dropped from 11th to 18th on Transparency International’s Global Corruption Index, with their overall point score falling from 78 to 73. Only five of the 180 countries assessed for the 2022 Index saw their year-on-year scores drop by five or more points: the UK (-5), Qatar (-5), Myanmar (-5), Azerbaijan (-7) and Oman (-8). CEO of Transparency International, Daniel Bruce, said the fall was a ‘powerful indictment of a recent decline in standards in government and controls over the use of taxpayer money.’

Strasbourg designates UK Government’s failure to act on Russian democratic interference as ‘impact case’

Despite two Parliamentary committee reports (DCMS, Intelligence and Security) detailing the impact of and credible attempts by Russian-backed outfits to interfere with UK elections, the UK Government has ignored and failed to act on the findings. In response, last March a group of UK parliamentarians took the UK Government to the ECHR backed by journalist grouping The Citizens. The Strasbourg court has now requested the British Government respond in detail to the allegations by 26th April, designating the case as an ‘impact case’. Read the Byline report for more information.

PM fires Nadhim Zahawi over tax scandal

Zahawi has been fired from his position as Conservative Party Chairman following an investigation by the new independent advisor, Sir Laurie Magus. They found a lack of openness in their tax affairs that meant it was untenable to keep them in position. Jake Berry, former Conservative Party Chair, has called for a new mechanism to allow for the suspension of ministers during ongoing investigations into their conduct — check out this article from Hannah White of the Institute for Government discussing the various pros and cons to this approach.

Labour Party facing high costs over legal actions

Whilst the ICO has told the BBC it will not be prosecuting three Jeremy Corbyn supporters accused of leaking confidential information due to ‘insufficient evidence’, the Party is taking five Corbyn supporters to the High Court for conspiring to put a leaked internal anti-semitism report into the public domain. The legal case could cost between £3–4 million according to the BBC, but as unions cut back on their funding for the party and Labour members subs are no longer swelling the coffers of the party due to collapsing membership figures, Labour’s funding gap is growing with a reported £5 million loss in 2021, widening the £14m gap between them and the Conservative Party gained in the run-up to the 2019 election. The expected date of the two-week trial could fall during the 2024 General Election, according to Novara Media’s Rivkah Brown.

Unlock Democracy question authority of new ethics advisor

Unlock Democracy has penned an open letter to the Prime Minister’s new ethics advisor, Sir Laurie Magnus, welcoming their appointment but questioning the logic of appointing an ethics advisor without the power to initiate inquiries that haven’t already been signed off by the PM. Given that the PM will also decide on any sanctions for wrongdoing they question whether the new ethics advisor has any significant power.

Transparency International’s Open Access UK tool: UK Government ministerial meeting oversight

Open Access UK is a central hub that allows you to understand who is meeting with government, when and for what purpose. The UK Government publishes the data, but it is scattered and difficult to understand. Transparency UK’s Open Access tool provides this data in an accessible format for you to interrogate. Find out more or contact TI UK if you’re interested in funding them to assist in expanding the provision of their data collection operation.

Majority of voters consider the Conservative Party institutionally corrupt, according to new poll

A new poll carried out by Omnisis and commissioned by The Byline Supplement has found that 65% of the population now think Rishi Sunak’s party is ‘institutionally corrupt’ compared to just 18% who disagree with the statement. The poll also found that 72% think senior members of the Conservative party are ‘more interested in personal gain than serving the public’, with just 16% disagreeing.

Conservative MP suspended from House of Commons over lobbying

MP Andrew Brigden was suspended from the House of Commons for five days in January after it was found that he breached parliamentary rules on paid lobbying and declaring interests. Brigden subsequently lost the Tory whip for spreading misinformation about Covid-19 and for comparing the vaccine rollout to the Holocaust.

Elections

GLA teams up with Shout Out UK to boost voter registration in London

With just four out of ten London voters aware of the recent voter ID changes, the Greater London Authority have kicked off a new initiative with Shout Out UK, Migrant Democracy Project and others to ensure those across the capital do not lose their vote in this May’s elections.

Electoral Reform Society launch voter ID public awareness campaign as calls mount for legislation to be abolished

On the 9th of January ERS launched their voter ID public awareness campaign to help voters understand the forms of identification they will need to bring to polling stations to be allowed to vote in elections later this year. Opposition to the legislation continues to grow with Labour MP Richard Burgon saying it amounts to vote rigging, given warnings of significant voter disenfranchisement due to the limited time to properly implement the scheme. Last month the Guardian released a podcast on voter ID legislation and the risk it poses to free and fair elections.

Polish Migrants Organise hosting symbolic election for migrants in London

The POMOC symbolic vote will be a local level election on a local issue involving non-EU, non-Commonwealth migrants who cannot vote in council elections in Brent, London, despite paying council tax. To find out more you can reach out to the Migrant Democracy Project — if you know any Brent based migrant orgs let them know!

Voter Authority Certificates now available online, concern over low numbers of voter ID applications

Whilst an Electoral Commission marketing campaign launched at the start of last month raising awareness of voter ID linked to a website where voter ID applications were at the time not available except by post, the online service is now available. However, at the time of writing it is understood there have been only 10,000 voter ID applications requested, just 0.5% of the number who could need the document. Almost 2 million voters in Great Britain do not possess a form of valid photo ID. A Byline Times poll last month found that 60% of voters were not aware that they would need to bring ID to vote.

Citizens UK unveil new project for 100% registered schools

Taking a leaf out of their successful living wage campaign, Citizens UK recently announced at the Democratic Education General Election Strategy Day that they are kickstarting a new project for a voter registration traffic light system for schools across the UK.

Save the Children to run UK-wide parallel election

Similar to the work undertaken by the Children’s Commission for Wales project in the 2021 elections, Save the Children are planning a UK wide parallel election to support children’s rights to have a say over decisions that affect them. The mass campaign will be based on a similar Norwegian campaign run in 2021 Barnas Valg 2021, involving child-friendly hustings and media partners working together to make a splash pre-election results night.

Democracy Classroom gear up for their Election Countdown

Running over six weeks prior to the 2023 local elections, Democracy Classroom will offer up resources to teachers, youth workers and education practitioners across the country, with bitesize information tailored specifically to support young people who will be engaging with elections for the first time. Hattie and the team at Democracy Classroom will be working with democratic education campaigns across the sector to develop the readiness of the space for the upcoming 2024 General Election, with everything in place by this September — stay tuned for more!

Northern Ireland local elections moved to avoid coronation clash

Initially planned for Thursday 4th May, the local elections will now be pushed back by two weeks to 18th May to avoid King Charles III’s coronation on 6th May. NI Minister Steve Baker MP sent a letter to the chief executives of the 11 councils about the change. Chief Electoral Officer Virginia McVea reported that the original date would ‘impede the smooth running of the election and cause difficulties for staff involved’ due to counts likely running into the day of the coronation.

Best for Britain poll suggests undecided voters will vote Conservative over Labour at general election

A poll surveying voter preferences during the Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak eras predicts that Labour’s current lead would secure them more than 500 seats at the 2024 general election. However, analysis from Best for Britain suggests their lead could in fact be far more fragile once you consider the voter profiles of those that answered ‘don’t know’. Redistributing the wavering votes based on their age and education profile, they found that many of those voters were more likely to swing towards the Conservatives which would slash Labour’s total to just 353 constituencies.

Danny Beales to take on Boris Johnson as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruslip despite claims of Labour Party interference

Thirty-four year old Danny Beales will hope to overturn Johnson’s significant 7,210 vote majority at the next election. However, the appointment of Beales was highly controversial. The local selection committee was disbanded after they were seen to be promoting a particular candidate in a local newsletter meaning the selection process then passed to the London region. The move was decried by leftwing members organisation Momentum.

Devolved Democracy & Local Government

Constitutional crisis deepens as Westminster blocks Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill

Westminster has blocked Scotland’s introduction of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill using a section 35 order approved by 318 Westminster MPs to 71 against. Pete Wishart, chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee called it the ‘single biggest attack on Scottish devolution and Scottish democracy since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999’, whilst the first minister for Wales said it was a ‘very dangerous moment’ that could be the start of a slippery slope.

Centre for Governance and Scrutiny thinking hard about participation and deliberation

The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CFGS) provides corporate governance support to English local authorities, ranging from advice relating to accountability, transparency, decision-making etc. At the moment, Ed Hammond, Acting CEO of CFGS, is considering novel methods of participatory governance, involving a wider range of people than just experts and local politicians, and how that ‘docks in’ with traditional governance. In other news, they’re about to start recruiting for a new Chief Exec.

Titus Alexander looking for a host organisation for the Scottish Independence Readiness Index

The Scottish Independence Readiness Index is a new initiative aiming to focus the debate over Scottish independence on more practical issues by creating a shared understanding of areas that need to be addressed if Scotland were to become independent, together with opportunities for the public to engage online. Titus is looking for a politically neutral, independent organisation or group of organisations with different positions on independence, to host the Index. Get in touch if you can help.

Institute for Government launch report on subnational governmental structure in England

A new report from the Institute for Government examines the unusually centralised system of governance in England and the impact this has in local decision-making. Drawing on comparative analysis from Germany and Japan the report considers the financial dependency local authorities have on Westminster and other aspects of devolved responsibility.

Democracy & Media

More support needed to halt damaging decline of local journalism, DCMS Committee warns

The House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee have just released their latest report Sustainability of Local Journalism on the sustainability of local media. The Committee recognise a significant decline in local media, noting the reduced quality of local journalism as a result of media ownership consolidation, and the ‘extreme vulnerability’ of independent local alternatives. The report has been welcomed across the independent news sector for including proposals that the government increase public funding to £10m for independent local journalism to aid local democracy and repeated the recommendations from the Cairncross Review.

Public Interest News Foundation launch 2023 survey of independent news providers

The survey will provide an in-depth look at the independent news landscape and provide crucial insights for PINF when advocating on behalf of the sector. Please do consider sharing this information directly with any independent news providers and send them a link to the survey.

Josiah Mortimer seeks to make democracy key theme of Byline coverage

In their new role at Byline Times, Josiah Mortimer is keen to make democracy coverage a key plank in Byline’s future coverage. Over the next period they’ll be covering the voter ID rollout, the (anti-) Strikes Bill, Public Order Bill, as well as looking into various Tufton Street think tanks. Josiah’s keen to chat with anyone working in and around these issues, so be sure to pop them an email.

The Media Democracy Festival returns in March this year

Every year the Media Democracy Festival takes place to explore the media landscape, bringing together a network of academics, journalists and activists for a range of great debates. This year the festival will be held at Birkbeck University on Saturday 25th of March. Book your free ticket now!

Impartiality of BBC chairman called into question over Boris Johnson loan

An investigation has been called into the appointment of Richard Sharp as chairman of the BBC following revelations that they helped Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan through way of an introduction to a wealthy Canadian businessman. William Shawcross was due to head the investigation but he has since recused themself due to concerns over his own impartiality — although Labour are questioning why it has taken him a week to reach this conclusion.

Press Gazette analysis reveals increasing centralisation of local news provision

Recent analysis from Press Gazette indicates that the top four publishers within the UK now control 88% of the daily print market. This represents a significant shift in ownership from five years ago when the top four owned 76% of the daily news market and a decade ago when they controlled just 50%.

Government scraps plan to privatise Channel Four

Culture secretary Michelle Donelan has announced the government is abandoning plans to privatise Channel Four. Rather than sell the broadcaster, the government has said they will allow it to borrow more money to make more programmes in-house. The decision has been welcomed by We Own It who have campaigned heavily to keep the broadcaster in public ownership ammassing 38,000 signatures behind their petition. However, the Media Reform Coalition have raised concern over the role of the new Media Reform Bill to both dilute the definition of public service broadcasting (PSB) and to reduce PSB obligations.

Funding Democracy

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust launches a new Grassroots Movements Fund

JRCT has recently launched a £1m fund to support grassroots social movements. The fund will use a participatory grant-making process which means grant decisions will be put in the hands of communities affected by the fund. JRCT hope this will put more autonomy into the hands of those working to address inequality. Deadline for applications has now closed.

Civic Power Fund Community Action Fund closes 26th Feb

The Community Action Fund has been launched to support grassroots campaigning and community organising in the UK, providing one-off grants between £2,500 and £20,000. All successful applicants will be offered support beyond funding, including the Civic Power Fund Governance Hub and optional, bespoke cohort and capacity building opportunities. Deadline is 26th February 2023.

John Preston developing democracy micro-grants project

Democracy micro-grants aim to provide a small non-repayable grant to individuals and groups to allow them to participate in democratic activity. John held a meeting to kickstart the project last week and they are now looking for a fiscal host organisation. Interested? Contact John Preston.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation offers 10% uplift to grant recipients
The foundation aims to provide support for the long-term change needed and ease pressure on the organisations it supports. The uplift requires minimal reporting and admin, with the foundation using what it learns to inform future support. Find out more.

And Finally…

Following in Jersey’s footsteps, France holds national citizens’ assembly on assisted dying

Following a consultative process involving a citizens’ jury, Jersey is set to approve assisted dying measures this year. France’s national citizen assembly on assisted dying, organised by constitutional council CESE, has been running since 9th December 2022 and is set to run for 27 working days across four months. More than 25 researchers were invited to observe the proceedings, read the report so far (trans.).

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.

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James, Max, Louise and the UK Democracy Network team