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UK Democracy Bulletin, 3rd March

UK Democracy Bulletin, 3rd March
Group photo at last month’s Notwestminster event in Huddersfield (Photo credit: Notwestminster)

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

  • Voter ID new campaign, new costs, new warnings, low signups
  • Public Order Bill peers inflict major defeats
  • Votes at 16 campaign manifesto revealed
  • Overseas Constituencies Unlock Democracy prepares new campaign
  • Democracy jobs lots of great roles currently available

Important information

You can read and subscribe to the UK Democracy Bulletin on Medium.

Thanks to our contributors

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our Democracy Meetup. We were joined by Myf Nixon — mySociety, Martyn Harris — North Warks Borough Council, Rebecca Deegan — I Have A Voice, Titus Alexander — Democracy Matters, Laurie Moulton-Ulrich- Zero Hour, Peter O’Neill — Imagine Belfast and Shima Langan — Shout Out UK.

Asks and Offers

Community Powerhouse Map to launch map of change-makers across the North

The People’s Powerhouse is in the process of creating a map of organisations, movements and individual projects that are working towards community change across the North of England. If you’re running a project of this nature, add yourself to the map to connect with other important work happening across the region.

Elect Her looking to fundraise to provide grants to women standing for office

Elect Her do amazing work getting women into elected office. They have already raised enough funds to give 12 women grants to help them run in the May local elections. Now they are looking for £6,000 more to help give grants to a further 24 women from marginalised backgrounds running in the May elections. If you know anyone who may be able to help — please contact hannah@elect-her.org.uk.

Upcoming Legislation

Independent watchdog criticises strike legislation as ‘not fit for purpose’

The Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), the government’s independent watchdog, has criticised the pending anti-strike laws as ‘not fit for purpose’ in a new assessment and issued the legislation a ‘red rating’. The committee said the Government has failed to follow its own policy for the timely submission of an impact assessment for scrutiny. The bill is currently under examination in the House of Lords.

European trade unions lambast anti-strike law

A number of unions from across the EU have criticised the strike legislation, suggesting it will ‘only drag the UK further away from democratic norms, risk violating international law, and tarnish its international reputation.’

Public Order Bill enters ping pong following major defeats in the Lords

The Public Order Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on the 21st of February with peers inflicting eight defeats on the government’s flagship anti-protest legislation. Lauren Nicolls, Researcher at the House of Commons Library, has written a briefing detailing the passage of the bill through the Lords and the key changes made since the bill was last in the Commons. The bill now enters parliamentary ping-pong where both houses will wrangle over the final details of the legislation. Expect the legislation to return to the Commons in early March.

National Security Bill enters report stage

This Wednesday 1st March, the National Security Bill entered report stage, reports Bond. Spotlight on Corruption defeated the government on an amendment to the bill requiring political parties to identify donations from foreign powers. Fears remain over the potential of the bill to limit the ability of the press to expose abuses of power by intelligence agencies or government failures. Government also expected to make some major concessions on the Foreign Registration Scheme.

Immigration Bill delayed

The new Immigration Bill (unpublished) will significantly restrict asylum, leading to more people being deported — and may allow human rights abuse without recourse, reports Liberty. The government plans to push this bill as hard as it can, until it gets pushed back and likely make it an election issue next year, they say. Whilst the bill was supposed to be published a fortnight ago — it wasn’t. Conservative backbenchers and activists are frustrated over the delay.

Online Safety Bill not likely to progress until after Easter

Kyle Taylor of Fair Vote UK reports that the Online Safety Bill is unlikely to progress until after Easter — in other news, Kyle will be back in London for a brief hiatus from Tokyo this month.

Democracy Sector

Democracy Coworking Day returns next month at Demos, April 14th

Spend a day working alongside fellow organisations working on UK democratic reform at Demos’ offices on Whitehall. As usual, feel free to drop in at any part of the day, for all of it or just part of it — the more the merrier. We’ll be putting on tea & coffee, snacks and refreshments, including croissants and pastries for the early birds. Register now.

Democracy Drinks in London, March 22nd

This month, join Unlock Democracy and the UK Democracy Network for this month’s London democracy drinks at the Electoral Reform Society’s offices in Southwark. Catch up on the latest democracy gossip and meet new faces — register on Eventbrite.

Democracy Classroom launch #ElectionCountdown 2023

Launched this Monday, #ElectionCountdown is a wide-ranging programme to support young people navigate the busy election period and keep up to date with candidates and manifestoes, follow election news and get important knowhow on voter registration and voter ID. If you or your organisation would like to receive tailored learning resources, template emails, blogs and posters with information for young people — you can sign up here for the weekly newsletter.

APPG event on race, elections and political participation this month

The APPG on Race and Community will host the upcoming event on the 20th March in Parliament. The event chaired by Labour MP Clive Lewis and SNP MP Kirsten Oswald will explore the democratic deficit faced by Black and minority ethnic groups. Sign up here.

V-Dem Institute’s 2023 report on democratisation launches

Every year V-Dem publish their comprehensive analysis on the trends for democracy and autocracy across the world. This year’s topline follows that more than 72% of the world’s population are now living under autocracies. You can watch the launch and read the new report Defiance in the Face of Autocratization.

Imagine! Belfast festival returns this month

Peter O’Neill is currently organising over 130 events for the Imagine! Belfast festival of politics and ideas between the 20th and 26th March. Guest speakers include Noam Chomsky, Francis Fukuyama, Shon Faye, George Monbiot and more. 24th March will be a special ‘Democracy Day’ strand, with events run by Involve, 50:50 NI, Northern Ireland Open Government Network and many more.

Titus Alexander welcoming contributions for a special issue of Frontiers in Political Science

Hot on the heels of Titus’ recent blog post for the European Consortium of Political Research, they are welcoming article contributions on the topic of Learning for Democracy, for the journal of Frontiers in Political Science. Get in touch with Titus.

NEON looking for Executive Director to cover parental leave

New Economy Organisers Network are hiring for a new Executive Director to cover for new-parent leave. The four-day-working-week role has a rolling application deadline and is also open to a job-share. The role extends to between 12–15 months. Apply now.

Constitution Society hiring new Research Fellow

The Constitution Society are looking out for a new Research Fellow for four months to write a paper on a major contemporary UK constitutional issue of their choosing. Applications close 31st March, apply now.

Liberty hiring Interim Director to cover maternity leave

The role at Liberty will last for 10–12 months, with applications closing on the 10th March. Apply here.

Refugee Action is looking for a new Head of Campaigns

The new Head of Campaigns will be responsible for developing and leading Refugee Action’s campaigning strategy and will play an active role on the senior leadership team. Note — applications for this role are only open to people who identify as having lived experience of forced displacement due to war, invasion, persecution or human rights abuses. Deadline for applications is Sunday 5th of March so apply fast!

Institute for Welsh Affairs is looking for new board members

The Trustees of the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) are looking for four new members for their Board. If you are interested in having an informal discussion about what the role entails, get in touch with Auriol Miller, IWA Director, to arrange a chat. The deadline to apply is 9am on Friday 17 March 2023.

The Institute for Government is looking for a Communications Intern

The Communications Intern will join the Institute for Government on a year-long contract starting in September 2023. This is a salaried role and will provide a career-starter with a great chance to help promote the work of IfG to a wide audience.

APPG on Political Literacy AGM, 13th March

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Political Literacy aims to ensure all young people are politically literate by the time they finish their secondary education. On 13th March, Shout Out UK (SOUK) will be hosting the Annual General Meeting for the APPG on Political Literacy in Parliament. They will be presenting their ideas and thoughts to the APPG members on youth engagement and the ways in which the voices of young people can be used to inform policy and strengthen political literacy. Register now.

Compassion in Politics to host discussion on honesty in politics

On the 7th of March, Compassion in Politics will host a discussion on how we can restore honesty in politics to safeguard the future of our already fragile democracy, featuring speakers including Lord Puttnam, Gina Miller, Jennifer Nadel, and Debbie Abrahams MP. Find out more.

Stir to Action to host ‘Demanding Democracy’ event in May

Stir to Action are hosting a lecture by Carne Ross on how we can revamp democracy to turn it into something ready to meet the challenges in the twenty first century. The event is taking place in May and is free to attend.

International conference on democracy, political and civic participation to take place in June

The conference will bring together leading academics, researchers and industry leaders to discuss and share their knowledge on all things related to democracy, political and civic participation. The conference is being organised by The World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology and will take place in London, June 22–23. There is also a call for papers on a range of democracy-related topics which will be presented at the conference.

New report explores the challenges and possibilities of community empowerment

Winning with Communities, new report from Unlock Democracy and Compass suggests a framework for greater community empowerment must revolve around four key principles; deepening democracy, supporting independent community action, underpinning social solidarity, and supporting community innovation and autonomy. Would you like to know more?

Democratic Innovation & Reform

mySociety publish new report on fragmented public data

As part of a joint project between mySociety and the Centre for Public Data, they have written a set of simple principles on how to get the most out of publishing public data and a new report on the value of better data publication, including a set of minimum publishing standards to ensure value and impact.

Former MP Ian Lucas publishes new book on ‘digital gangsters’
Former UK Member of Parliament Ian Lucas describes in the new book the ways in which so-called digital gangsters work to meddle in politics, polarise conversation and erode democracy. He takes particular aim at how we take democracy in the physical world for granted with certain protections, yet digital spaces are undefended and ill fit for purpose.

25 English councils now back proportional representation, reports Councils for PR

Last week Sheffield City Council passed a motion in support of proportional representation, making the city the 25th council across England to back PR. William Relton and the team at Councils for PR are working to build momentum for PR across councils in England as a means of broadening political support for the measure. Councils for PR offer a range of support, guides and model motions for those looking to enrol their own council.

Unlock Democracy working on a campaign to promote overseas constituencies
With the Elections Act 2022 removing the 15-year electoral registration limit that had applied to British citizens who reside abroad, the numbers of eligible voters living abroad has ballooned from 233,000 registered overseas voters at the 2019 general election to as many as 3.5 million eligible voters. Working with New Europeans, Unlock Democracy are now working on promoting overseas constituencies to simply this significant administrative burden and better represent overseas voters. Read the draft Parliamentary Briefing.

Votes at 16 manifesto unveiled this week
The British Youth Council, Body Shop and the APPG for Votes at 16 teamed up this week to present a new manifesto for youth participation. See more.

How can we create a more gender-balanced democracy? Upcoming 50:50 event will discuss

50:50 Parliament has set itself the target of having 100 more women in Parliament by 2030. A panel discussion hosted on 23 March 2023 will explore the progress made so far on female representation in UK politics and what more can be done to achieve a better, more gender-balanced democracy in the future. The event is free and will be held at Queen Mary’s University in London.

Polling for the Byline Times reveals public resentment of money in UK politics and appetite for Lords reform

Polling for the Byline Times has found a concerning level of discontent with the British political system. Two thirds (66%) of the general public now believe people or organisations with large amounts of money can ‘buy influence’ in UK politics and that political power is gained through the influence of money rather than the democratic wish of voters. Half of voters (48%) said they opposed the ability of Johson to hand out new peerages with a third of voters (31%) saying the House of Lords should be abolished altogether. If you have polling questions you think are newsworthy, get in touch with Josiah Mortimer to discuss options for including them in the next Byline Times poll.

Talkshop suggest changes based on Tuscany public participation policy
In force between 2008 and 2013, the law introduced a new Regional Participation Authority in Tuscany to institutionalise public participation and consultation into regional and local decision making. Perry Walker at Talkshop suggests the pioneering Tuscan model as a good case study for similar UK local government reform.

Brown’s constitutional reforms will not be immediate, says Constitution Unit

A new blog from Meg Russel, Director at the Constitution Unit at UCL, takes a closer look at Gordon Brown’s ambitious reforms for the House of Lords, suggesting they are unlikely to materialise until at least the second or third year of a Labour government. Drawing on previous UK and international experience with constitutional reform and citing the need for a period of public consultation on the reforms, Russell suggests there are a number of logistical hurdles that will push back the possibility of immediate and concrete reform.

Constitution Society event to explore their latest research on public attitudes to democratic reform

A seminar on Monday 13th March, hosted by The Constitution Society, will examine what the British public thinks about UK democracy and the options for reform. The Constitution Unit’s ‘Democracy in the UK after Brexit’ project has been examining this question in depth and will share some of the findings from their major survey conducted in August/September 2022. Sign up now.

Integrity & Transparency

Britain could be slipping into an ‘elected dictatorship’, says top parliamentary standards official

A new paper written by one of parliament’s most senior standards officials, Daniel Greenberg CB, has warned that Britain could be slipping towards a parliamentary dictatorship. The paper, ‘Parliamentary Democracy and Parliamentary Dictatorship’, alludes to a general overreach by ministers and governmental bodies at a time when a number of pieces of legislation that could damage our democracy are passing through parliament. Although the paper was published on Greenberg’s personal website and is intended in a ‘purely private capacity’, Labour MP Clive Lewis said it should be understood as a ‘screeching klaxon warning’ from someone at the heart of our political establishment ‘that our democracy is being fundamentally undermined.’

Labour Party to appoint Sue Gray as LOTO Chief of Staff amid concerns

Senior civil servant Sue Gray, who oversaw the Partygate report, is pending appointment to Labour’s top team as Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff. The appointment is subject to approval by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) due to Gray’s role in the recent inquiry that arguably brought down then PM Boris Johnson and their knowledge of sensitive information regarding government workings.

Robert Jenrick admits the government is spying on human rights lawyers

The Minister of State for Immigration admitted during a debate in parliament on February 20th that the government is ‘monitoring’ human rights lawyers. After suggesting human rights lawyers ‘exploit and abuse our laws’, Jenrick commented, ‘we are monitoring the activities, as it so happens, of a small number of legal practitioners, but it is not appropriate for me to discuss that here.’ Human rights lawyers have reacted with dismay and expressed concern that the rhetoric around the need to monitor ‘lefty lawyers’ could exacerbate an already tense relationship.

Transnational Institute publishes new report Digital Power — State of Power 2023

Transnational Institute’s (TNI) 11th flagship State of Power report exposes the actors, strategies and the implications of the digital power grab — expanded surveillance, weakened workers’ rights and spiralling disinformation — and how movements are forming to bring back popular control.

Elections

Labour rumoured to be considering Tendered Ballots in response to voter ID challenge

Tendered ballots are a special and uncommonly used measure to provide an opportunity to vote for people who allege that they have been subject to an administrative error. Tendered Ballots may be used to defuse potential disputes at a polling station and resume normal voting station operations. The ballots are issued in a form that allows later eligibility verification, as opposed to outright denying the voter to a possible eligible voter. The Labour Party are understood to be consulting lawyers and specialists on the topic.

Shout Out UK working with Greater London Authority on communicating changes to voting rights

Shima Langan, Public Policy Coordinator at Shout Out UK, reports that their work with the Greater London Authority on improving public awareness of the changes implemented through the 2022 Elections Act continues. The campaign is closely coordinated with the Electoral Commission’s own nation-wide voter awareness campaign in the run up to the local elections. With only a fraction of those requiring voter ID signed up in London, the campaign will focus on the acceptable forms of photo ID and how to apply for voter ID.

Local Government Association issues warning over voter ID concerns

With just two months to go until polling day, the Local Government Association (LGA) has issued a warning regarding concerns that the requirements to vote are too strict with too little effort spent on informing voters that the rules have changed. Conservative councillor and chairman of the LGA, James Jamieson remarked ‘Raising public awareness of these new requirements is crucial, and we remain concerned about the potential for electoral staff to be overwhelmed with enquiries and voter authority certificate applications when polling cards go out’.

Democracy Defence Coalition reconvenes ahead of the local elections, plans public engagement campaign

This week marked the first meeting of the Democracy Defence Coalition (DDC) since mothballing the project in the wake of the passage of the Elections Act last year. Reviving the effort, earlier this month the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust funded Unlock Democracy through a joint funding bid with other coalition partners with the aim of improving public awareness of the new changes to voting requirements. The group plans to use the new funding to hire a media partner to broaden public engagement on the issue beyond the democracy sector bubble. Get in touch with Matt Gallagher from Fair Vote to get involved.

Labour unlikely to repeal voter ID, sources say

Campaigners working on the issue in the sector have suggested that whilst unlikely that Labour will repeal voter ID in government, due to the head of steam the current government has built up around the topic — it is more likely they will reduce photo requirements and improve validation systems.

New Electoral Commission guidance on accessibility at elections

Martyn Harris, Head of Elections at North Warks Borough Council, highlights the new guidance on accessibility from the Electoral Commission for the upcoming elections. The guidance provides key information for Returning Officers and their staff to help remove some of the barriers and challenges disabled people face when voting at polling stations. Check the guidance here.

Voter ID to cost up to £180 million this decade, says Electoral Reform Society

Electoral Reform Society has undertaken an analysis of the expected costs of the new controversial reforms, totalling some £180 million over the decade. It has been suggested that the funds would be better used to increase voter turnout.

Calls on the government to postpone voter ID legislation increase as just 1% of voters without ID have signed up

As of this week just 24,500 voter IDs have been requested, marking just 1% of voters without ID. As a result the Labour Party claimed the government ‘risked widespread disenfranchisement’, with Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan remarking voter ID as a ‘thinly-veiled attempt to make it far more difficult for people to vote’. Furthermore, polling for the Byline Times suggests that just 52% of voters under the age of 40 are aware of the need to own a valid form of Voter ID, with that percentage rising to 63% amongst 18–24 year olds. For more info on the upcoming changes, check out this explainer from openDemocracy.

Democracy & Media

Hancock’s leaked messages further reveal government’s close relationship with the press during pandemic

Leaked WhatsApp messages between Matt Hancock and George Osborne, then editor of the Evening Standard, reveal further details of the intimate relationship between the government and established press during the pandemic.

Public Interest News Foundation launch report on co-creational news models

A new report from PINF’s Executive Director Jonathan Heawood and leading philosophy professor Fabienne Peter of Warwick University looks at the possibilities of creating a new model for the media with a greater commitment to public participation and social inclusivity. The report outlines what they believe to be a healthy democratic culture and how a news media governed by principles of accuracy and participation could be integral to upholding those values. On the 9th of March PINF is hosting a Zoom launch to discuss the project and anyone interested is welcome to join.

Sounddelivery programme is back this year and aims to diversify voices in the media

The Sounddelivery training programme makes a return in 2023 for its third year. The eight month programme aims to diversify voices in the media to make it more representative of society. Sounddelivery are looking for 14 new participants who will be united in using their lived experience to create a positive change in and for their communities. Applications close 24th of March.

Funding Democracy

Catalyst commissioning research on innovation and learning in distributed professional networks

Commissioned by Catalyst’s Collaborative Network Circle, the successful applicant will focus on surfacing and reviewing best practice and innovative approaches to distributed networks. The budget totals £3,000 with a rolling deadline, find out more.

And Finally…

Association Civic Tech Europe is fighting for recognition of Europe’s civic tech sector

Adrian Duguet, founder of Brussels-based Associate of Civic Tech Europe is working to bring together European civic tech professionals to promote the sector and raise awareness of civic tech at an EU level. They have so far brought together more than 20 partners, heads of networks and organisations. Adrian’s has an eye on the upcoming 2024 European elections as a big opportunity for European civic tech.

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!

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 fortnightly 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 Network team