UK Democracy Bulletin, 6th July 2023
Monthly 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: hello@democracynetwork.org.uk
- subscribe link for these emails
- read / share this email on medium
- join the democracy network whatsapp community
- add the democracy check-in to your calendar
- all upcoming events from across the sector — add your event
- all current job adverts — add your vacancy
- grants and paid fellowships — add your grant
- all UK democracy organisations
Highlights
- Migrant Democracy Project call on govt to revoke EU citizens voting rights changes
- Democracy Network launch academic collaboration toolkit
- Democracy funding wide range of small-medium grants available
- Public Interest News launch their new UK Local News Map
- Labour For A New Democracy PR push comes to a head at Labour’s National Policy Forum
- UK Democracy Fund seeks digital expertise for expansive digital voter registration campaign
Important information
We’ve added new ongoing ‘Civic Tech’ & ‘Democratic Economy’ sections to this month’s Bulletin
You can join the UK Democracy Network as a member here.
You can read and subscribe to the UK Democracy Bulletin on Medium.
It’s time for the Democracy Network’s Annual Survey — take our survey and claim your £10 voucher
Thanks to our contributors
Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our Democracy Check-In. We were joined by Ellen Berry — UK Democracy Fund, Nathan Young — Viewpoints, Myf Nixon — mySociety, Edward Saperia — Newspeak House, Miriam Levin — Engage Britain, Joe Mitchell — Public Interest News Foundation, Flynn Devine — Alan Turing Institute, Liz Crosbie — Reboot GB, Zoë Wilkins — People Powered, Lara Parizotto — Migrant Democracy Project, Bartek Staniszewski — Bright Blue, Gloria Dawson — Research for Action, Mohammed Afridi — Civic Power Fund, Martyn Harris — North Warks & Nuneaton and Bedworth Councils, Arthur Rogers — VocalEyes and Alex Zur-Clark — Labour For A New Democracy.
Upcoming Legislation
Urgent call out for signatories against removal of EU citizens’ voting rights
Migrant Democracy Project has prepared an open letter to be sent to the Minister for Levelling Up regarding a draft Statutory Instrument to implement the removal of the voting rights of EU citizens. Sign the open letter here — contact Lara Parizotto and the team for more info.
Open Rights Group submit open letter calling for improvement of the Online Safety Bill
Open Rights Group have brought together dozens of organisations to submit an open letter calling for improvements to be made to the Online Safety Bill, which is now coming to the end of Committee Stage in the House of Lords. The letter focuses on key issues with the bill, namely the undermining of end-to-end encryption.
International Labour Organisation says UK Govt must modify strike laws in line with international standards
The UN labour standards body, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), has told the UK Government they must seek technical assistance from the agency’s experts to ensure the Strikes Bill conforms to international rules on freedom of association. The ILO is urging the government to improve consultation with unions and limit government powers to ensure worker autonomy is not impeded.
SLAPP legal protections to be added to Economic Crime Bill
An amendment offering specific protections in law for journalists and individuals at risk of being targeted by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) is to be added to the Economic Crime Bill. The Society for Editors described the amendment as ‘a welcome and significant first step’ in tackling SLAPPs but suggested further protections and penalties are needed to deter the use of SLAPPs as an attractive vehicle for harassment.
Democracy Sector
Upcoming London Democracy Coworking
Democracy Network has been running a series of increasingly popular Democracy Coworking sessions every month since March 2022 — this month we’ll be heading back to Demos’ offices on Whitehall for 28th July. We’ll be pausing for August as the holiday season takes over, and then we’ll be running sessions in Manchester, Brighton, Cardiff, London and Edinburgh in September and October — Register now.
Are you getting ready for party conference season? Democracy Network want to know
Democracy Network are tracking who’s doing what within the democracy sector this conference season, are you organising an event, canvassing party members, organising a conference vote? We’re looking to understand who’s doing what, to better understand how the wider democracy movement can help support them, the Network are looking to partner on events, contact Democracy Network Director Jessie Joe Jacobs if you’d like support, speaking opportunities or sponsorship — add your party conference activities into this sheet.
Launch of the Collaboration for Democratic Change Toolkit
This month Graham Smith, George Bolton and members of the Democracy Network gathered to celebrate the launch of the Collaboration for Democratic Change Toolkit. The toolkit outlines how practitioners and academics can more effectively collaborate and sustain relationships — to support this work, a new Network of Democracy Academics & Practitioners (NDAP) launched to carry forward and build on the work of the Toolkit — Download the Toolkit and contact Graham Smith to join the NDAP group.
JRRT hiring new Grants & Learning Manager
This one’s hot off the press from Nicky Milstead and the team at the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust — they’re on the lookout for a new Grants & Learning Manager focused on democracy — deadline 3rd August. Apply now.
People’s Powerhouse Community Map
Are you a change making organisation or movement builder in the North of England? People’s Powerhouse want to meet you — add your organisation to their Community Map now!
Alliance Now launches
Bringing together 99% Rising, The 99% Organisation, Take Back Britain, Open Britain, Citizens Network and Reboot GB, the Alliance Now (ALL) coalition soft launched last week, releasing their two key documents: The Citizens’ Declaration and the Good Guide to Government. The ALL welcomes other organisations across the democracy movement to join them — Contact ALL Project Leader Liz Crosbie to find out more and get involved.
mySociety kick off new Repowering Democracy blog series, tell them about their first 20 years
In this series of blog posts, mySociety will hear from guest bloggers who think deeply about how our democracy works, and are at the frontlines of trying to improve it — read more about it and sign up here. mySociety also wants to hear from you if you’ve any anecdotes, stories or thoughts about their work over the past twenty years — get in touch here and let them know.
50:50 Parliament to host a commemoration of Emmeline Pankhurst 165th birthday
Hosted by Jess Philips at Westminster and run in partnership with Women in Public Affairs, the commemoration event of the suffragette leader will be held on Monday 17th July — stay tuned for more information. In other news, 50:50 are currently working on their GE strategy, to identify seats that could provide an opportunity for women to be selected and elected.
Power for Democracies looking to test effectiveness of democracy supporting organisations
Positioning themselves as a non-profit democracy charity evaluator, Power for Democracies are looking to build an evidence base on effective ‘pro-democracy activities’ and the ‘efficient NGOs carrying them out’ — based on this research the organisation will make recommendations for donors who want to support democracy as effectively as possible — one to watch.
Common Sense is looking for new freelancers and volunteers
Common Sense is about to commission a range of new documentaries, shows and projects and is looking for freelancers and volunteers to join the team. They have a wide range of vacancies available, so check out what’s on offer and complete their application form.
DemocracyNext to launch guide on setting up citizen’s assemblies
Next month, DemocracyNext will be sharing a new ‘Assembling an Assembly Guide’. The guide will walk visitors through the key design elements and principles of running a successful citizens’ assembly, and will offer guidance on adapting it to one’s community or context. Keep your eyes peeled for the release.
New Conservatives faction forms
A new right-wing Tory faction has emerged, the New Conservatives count 25 MPs among their number, entirely drawn from the 2017 and 2019 intakes. The new grouping is focused on cutting migration, law and order and ‘woke issues’.
Conservative Democratic Organisation launches
It’s a bumper crop of right-wing Tory factions this month, with a new grassroots-focused Conservative Democratic Organisation launching. The group, seemingly aimed at empowering the Tory grassroots and internal party reform, is allegedly funded by a prominent donor of the 2011 No to AV campaign, opposed to electoral reform.
Funding Democracy
New GLA Voter ID grants available, deadline 14th July
The Greater London Authority (GLA) is running phase two of their Voter ID Awareness Campaign Grants as part of its Civic and Democratic Participation Programme. There is a £556,900 funding pot for this work, with organisations able to apply for grants between £25,000 and £50,000 — Apply now.
UK Democracy Fund seeking digital expertise for new voter participation campaign
Ellen Berry at the UK Democracy Fund is looking for ambitious and effective non-partisan digital campaigns focused on voter participation. The Fund is looking to potentially fund and seriously scale up their work to hit their target goal of one million more people from lower propensity voting groups to register and vote in the next General Election — contact Ellen for more information.
Newspeak House spinning up project to help new MPs set up their offices effectively
Edward Saperia of Newspeak House — the London College of Political Technology, reports that they are undertaking the first phase of work on a new project to update and maintain best practice around setting up new MPs offices effectively, in light of changing technologies and organisational practices. The first phase, user research with MP office staff has started this month — so if you know any MP staffers that might be up for a chat, let Ed know — whilst they’ve received some small seed funding for this first phase, they are looking for funding opportunities for the remaining £85,000 to complete the project, can you help?
VocalEyes looking for funding to upgrade their platform
VocalEyes CIC runs an amazing and long-running community participation and engagement platform. With a decade of success behind them they’re looking to the future and — importantly — a tech upgrade for their 10 year old platform. They’re looking for funding to expand, as well as to develop their tech stack, including the use of new generative AI. Can you assist them, or any have leads for them to follow up? Contact Arthur at VocalEyes.
Multitudes Foundation offer €10,000 ideation grants
As part of a Europe wide fund, changemakers can apply for this Multitudes Foundation £10,000 grant to develop and support new early stage solutions to transform and reimagine politics — Apply now.
Power to Change Discovery Fund closes 21 July
Offering £10,000 to explore a community tech solution, with an additional £2,000 to fund capacity to engage with their community of practice, free courses including a structured design course and Open Working and Reuse course — the Power to Change Discovery Fund closes on 21st July — Find out more.
People Powered launch new accelerator programmes on climate and digital policy
The People Powered accelerator programmes aim to support participants to design a participatory process, paired with a mentor and combined with an implementation grant of $15,000 on completion, with the possibility of a further $100,000 grant follow up award. The deadline of the call for applicants is July 15th — see the relevant pages on climate and digital policy to apply or contact Zoë Wilkins for more info.
Landecker Democracy Fellowship opens
With €15,000 available to support their ideas through the Fellowship programme, Fellows will also receive support from the Humanity in Action network and hands-on training. This year, Humanity in Action are looking to support projects in line with their theme of Democracy and the Politics of Memory — Apply now.
Large scale democracy funding round from Open AI closes
Flynn Devine at the Alan Turing Institute reports that Open AI recently welcomed applications from across the world to apply for their Democratic Inputs to AI funding round, making £100,000 available to 10 projects exploring democratic processes for deciding what rules AI should follow. Winners will be announced by July 14th.
Catalyst publish list of third sector funding opportunities
Catalyst has published a full list of third sector funding organisations — check it out now, we’ll be sure to add this to our new democracy resources libraries launching next month!
Elections
At least 14,000 unable to vote at local elections, according to Electoral Commission interim report
New research from the Electoral Commission has revealed that a minimum of 14,000 were unable to vote at the local elections because they lacked an acceptable form of ID. The actual figure is likely to be far higher, however, as almost 40% of polling stations used ‘greeters’, tasked with telling voters before they went in that ID was needed. Their full report releases in September following more extensive feedback from stakeholders, councils and civil society organisations.
Unlock Democracy are tracking party manifesto development processes
Introduced by Tom Brake at the Democracy Network’s General Election Working Group last month, Unlock Democracy’s live document provides insight on the most recent intelligence and manifesto processes from various parties — contact Tom Brake to view and access the document. Contact Democracy Network if you would like to join the General Election Working Group — the next GE Working Group meeting will be meeting at 10am 26th July on Zoom.
Association of Electoral Administrators publish post-poll report
The new report Under pressure: increased demand on the UK electoral system outlines concerns that only a major electoral failure will focus attention on the UK electoral system’s vulnerabilities. Launching the report, AEA chief executive Peter Stanyon said: “Stacking significant changes on endemic issues is increasing risk for all elections, but especially a high turnout general election.”
Councils begin planning for a snap General Election
According to Martyn Harris, Head of Elections at North Warwickshire and Nuneaton & Bedworth Councils, planning has begun for a potential snap General Election, as well as for the PCC and local elections in May 2024.
Best for Britain to launch tactical voting campaign as polling reveals Labour’s lead is in jeopardy
Polling from Best for Britain suggests that Labour’s potential 470 seat majority could be in jeopardy should Reform UK stand down candidates in target Conservative constituencies. In response, Best for Britain is planning their biggest ever tactical voting campaign ahead of the election to encourage voters to vote for the party most likely to beat the Conservatives.
Boris Johnson resigns sparking wave of by-elections
Former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, resigned as an MP in early June, preempting the outcome of the Privileges Committee Report into lockdown partying. Their resignation, along with allies Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams, has prompted upcoming by-elections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Selby and Ainsty, and mid-Bedfordshire.
Postal ballot ID requirements may lead older voters to ‘give up’, says Age UK
The newly announced rules requiring postal and proxy voters to show ID may disproportionately affect older voters and could prevent them from casting a vote, say Age UK. Director of Age UK, Caroline Abrahams, said the legislation may ‘erect additional barriers to older people exercising their democratic right to vote’ and expressed concern that the new rules have not been subjected to adequate parliamentary scrutiny.
Electoral Reform Society praise Single Transferable Voting in Northern Ireland’s local elections
This year Northern Ireland held local elections using the Single Transferable Voting system. The system gives voters a group of local councillors to choose from which are representative of the political diversity of their ward itself and asks them to rank candidates in order of preference. Doug Cowan at ERS argued the system means voters in Northern Ireland were able to express ‘nuanced preferences’ and ensured voters don’t have to worry about ‘splitting the vote’.
Welsh Government reviewing consultation on using the STV system for local elections
Principal councils in Wales are now able to choose to hold electing using the single transferable voting system. Ending back in April, the consultation is looking into the rules around conducting elections in this way — stay tuned for updates.
Democratic Reform & Innovation
Labour For A New Democracy mobilises ahead of the National Policy Forum
The Labour Party’s National Policy Forum (NPF) is due to meet this week and throughout the month, culminating in its final weekend on 22–23 July to decide what will become Labour Policy. Labour For A New Democracy (L4ND) has mobilised unprecedented engagement with this process, compared to any past issue, from across the Labour movement, with 44% of all submissions to the NPF calling for PR. Alex Zur-Clark at L4ND says it helps to know about any potential interventions, press, events or campaigns you may have organised over the next four weeks that may relate to Labour and electoral reform, and to let them know.
Gordon Brown unveils Alliance for Radical Democratic Change
Gordon Brown has launched a new alliance of Labour politicians backing democratic reform to meet the pressing challenges facing the UK. The new group includes Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. The alliance is advancing ‘wide-ranging proposals’ to ‘end the centralisation of power in Whitehall and Westminster’ in order to create a ‘fairer, greener and wealthier Britain’.
Labour MP says party plans for House of Lords reform will take a back seat
The Labour Party’s promised House of Lords reform has suffered as part of the Party’s ongoing wave of u-turns in recent weeks, as Shadow Commons Leader Thangam Debbonaire MP remarks Lords reform ‘takes time and drains energy’ in an apparent bucket of cold water over growing hopes for wholesale reform of the upper chamber.
Institute for Public Policy Research explore how best to frame ‘democratic reform’
A new report by IPPR, Talking Politics: Building support for democratic reform, found just 6% of the public have full trust in the current political system, while 89% support constitutional reform. Based on a survey of 8,000 people, they concluded that democratic reform is strongest in the UK’s former industrial heartlands. The report discusses the most effective framing and politicisation of the ‘democratic reform’ to capitalise on this appetite for change.
Constitution Society report explores the impacts of party whips
A new report from Tabitha Troughton at The Constitution Society, Cracking the Whip: The UK’s Party Control System, takes a closer look at how whipping was used to significant effect in two landmark parliamentary votes — the invasion of Iraq and triggering of the EU referendum — underlining the implications for transparent democratic process in the face of pressure to toe the party line.
Devolved Democracy / Local Democracy
Research for Action plan launch of their new report on local government auditing
The new report by Gloria Dawson and the team at Research for Action looks at the collapse of the local government auditing regime over the past decade and its wider impact on local democracy. Find out more about the upcoming report by contacting Gloria and the team at Research for Action.
Scottish First Minister unveils plans for a written Scottish Constitution
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has argued that without a written Constitution, the UK parliament could choose to abolish the Scottish parliament, undermine the devolution settlement, and override decisions made in Scotland. The first minister said drafting a constitution would create ‘meaningful rights that put power in the hands of the people who live here’.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation and New Local report explore avenues for local-led policy making
A new report, Designing out the most severe forms of hardship in local areas, by JRF and New Local explores the link between enhanced local decision making and poverty alleviation. The report sets out a framework for how power can be shifted to communities and local decision makers to enable those with lived experience to shape a local policy framework that combats hardship.
Orxit? Orkney votes for motion to explore leaving current UK governance settlement
Fed up with long-running underfunding and neglect by Edinburgh and London, Orcadian councillors have voted to explore alternative forms of governance. Whilst Orkney is unlikely to make the switch, locals think the move will focus attention on their ailing ferry services.
Integrity & Transparency
UK still lacking anti-corruption champion, say Transparency International
Transparency International and the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition have been working on a joint campaign to encourage the Government to appoint a new anti-corruption champion — as the post has been empty for a year now, reports Rose Whiffen of Transparency International.
Big Brother Watch pursue legal action against UK Counter Disinformation Unit
Big Brother Watch has launched a crowdfunder to pursue legal action against the UK Counter Disinformation Unit — the first ever legal action in Europe against a government’s counter disinformation activity. The campaign group has been spurred to action following recent news that Caroline Lucas MP has been repeatedly logged by the Counter Disinformation Unit for criticising the government.
Mayor Jamie Driscoll banned from standing for re-election by National Executive Committee
The Labour Party is in the midst of another internal row over candidate selection after the Labour NEC blocked North Tyne Metro Mayor Jamie Driscoll from standing for re-election. In a joint letter to the NEC, Driscoll, Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham, and Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham, said the decision to exclude a sitting mayor from a selection process with no right of appeal was neither democratic, transparent or fair.
Institute for Government praises Privileges Committee ruling on Johnson
Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, praised the Privileges Committee for upholding one of the key parliamentary mechanisms underpinning our democracy. In their ruling on Johnson’s Partygate scandal, White says the Committee has cemented the principle that politicians must tell the truth as well as the Committee’s fundamental role in upholding parliamentary transparency.
Lowest ever percentage of FOI requests granted by Sunak’s government
Just 33.6% of ‘resolvable requests were granted during the first three months of the Sunak Ministry — a record low compared with a 56% rate of information published in full in David Cameron’s first quarter as prime minister, 44% under Theresa May, and 43% under Boris Johnson. The findings have led to accusations of a ‘concealment culture’ within Downing Street that flies in the face of Sunak’s promise for greater integrity, professionalism and accountability.
Liberty take legal action against Home Secretary as anti-protest legislation forced through
Liberty is pursuing legal action after the Home Secretary forced through highly controversial new protest laws that were previously rejected by the House of Lords during the passage of the Public Order Act, in actions the Lords have described as a ‘constitutional outrage’. Liberty argue the move signals a‘flagrant breach of the separation of powers that exist in our constitution’.
Labour face criticism for failing to back attempts to prevent new protest laws
Yvette Cooper and the Labour front bench have come under fire for failing to back a ‘Fatal Motion’ which may have scuppered Govt attempts to pass expansive new police protest powers. Baroness Jenny Jones of the Green Party attempted to bring Labour on side, with Labour’s Emily Thornberry MP replying that to kill the bill in the Lords would set a precedent that the ‘Tories could easily use their majority in the Lords to do the same to a Labour government’s laws.
openDemocracy find Tory MP hid directorship at defence firm whilst sitting on defence committee
Conservative MP Bob Stewart failed to declare their role at a defence firm linked to controversial Azerbaijani businessman Khagani Bashirov, whilst sitting on Parliament’s defence committee, openDemocracy has found. The findings come a week after the same MP was charged with a public order offence over an alleged racially aggravated incident last December.
Democratic Economy
Bright Blue preparing new report on democratic forms of business ownership
Bartek Staniszewskvi at Bright Blue reports that they are penning a new report exploring cooperatives, mutuals, employee-owned businesses and community businesses. The report will launch in partnership with Power to Change this October, with a report release in September — contact Bartek for more info.
Universal Basic Income of £1,600 to be trialled in two places, Autonomy report
Taking the UK media cycle by storm earlier last month, Autonomy, in partnership with Big Local, presented plans for large scale UBI pilots in East Finchley, London and Jarrow. The pilots will amount to the first UBI pilots held in England in a major step forward for the policy. Find out more about the pilots via Autonomy.
Democracy & Media
Public Interest News Foundation launching their UK Local News Map, July 19th
The map, currently in Beta, aims to show the provision of local news per local authority in the UK, across print, online, radio and TV. View the map and register for the launch on July 19th, 12pm here.
Ofcom investigate GB News and Talk TV over impartiality rules
Ofcom has launched investigations into GB News and Talk TV as the regulator struggles to play catchup to handle how rightwing television channels are employing serving politicians as presenters, see the Guardian coverage of the story.
Conservative Party receive international criticism for charging journalist fee at annual conference
The Conservative Party has been accused of setting a ‘dangerous precedent’ after it emerged they intend to charge a £137 fee to journalists that want to report at their annual conference. Nearly 300 news organisations, including the Society of Editors, Foreign Press Association, News Media Association, Reporters Without Borders and the European Alliance of News Agencies, signed an open letter to the government criticising what they see as an attempt to restrict public interest journalism.
National Council for the Training of Journalists report reveals lack of diversity in the media
A new report, Diversity in the Media, from the National Council for the Training of Journalists reveals a startling lack of diversity in the media. More than four in five people (82%) in the media now have the highest educational qualifications, compared to only 38% of all workers. And nearly three-quarters (72%) have parents in the highest, most financially secure professional and managerial occupations, compared to only 44% of all workers.
Civic Tech
New Democracy Network AI & Democracy WhatsApp Group
Are you interested in applying or experimenting with the new AI large language model tools? Concerned about the impact of AI on democratic processes? Join the Democracy Network’s new WhatsApp Group.
Democracy Network run AI & Democracy How To workshop
Last week Democracy Network ran a workshop with Hannah O’ Rourke of Campaign Lab looking at the new generation of AI large language model tooling such as Open AI’s ChatGPT. In the session Hannah introduced and explored the tools, showcasing their use cases for democracy organisations — see the slides and view the event recording.
Joe Coker of Candid.vote produces new UK Politics ChatGPT plugin
After producing the Candid.vote aggregated dataset earlier this year, Joe Coker quickly moved onto making UK election & candidate datasets interrogable via ChatGPT. The new UK Politics plugin for ChatGPT allows a user to query ChatGPT with up-to-date and references answers about various political subjects, drawing from Democracy Club, TheyWorkForYou and other data sources.
Andrew Gray is running a virtual candidate in the Ainsty & Selby by-election
Powered by deliberative tool Pol.is, Andrew of Crowd Wisdom is standing on a policy-less platform with their entire stance and policy agenda derived from AI-facilitated deliberation. Andrew has garnered press attention including the Daily Star — see their website for more info.
Electoral Commission warn time is running out to regulate UK electoral system to keep up with AI
Last week the Electoral Commission issued warnings to legislators of the perils of ignoring calls to regulate emerging generative AI tech that has the potential to seriously undermine the upcoming 2024 General Election.
Civic Tech Fieldguide want your favourite AI prompts!
If you have any success stories or interesting insights from using AI prompts, Civic Tech Field Guide wants to hear about them — share your stories now.
Scottish Parliament investigating use of AI-assisted automatic speech recognition
Christopher Gavin and the team at the Scottish Parliament’s digital team are currently appraising the potential use of AI-assisted automatic speech recognition (ASR) for house business in the Parliament.
Civil service leaders consider how ChatGPT could impact the civil service
Writing in Civil Service World, Jess Bowie interviews Paul Maltby, Director of AI Transformation in Government at Faculty, and Jack Perschke of Content + Cloud, on their thoughts. They say that whilst the technology is currently at the level of an ‘amazing party trick’, we are on the verge of a large scale internet-level transformation. Mass communication using the written word, they write, ‘adjudicated by the high priests of form — journalists, officials, lawyers, whatever — is dead’.
And Finally…
Editors highlight: UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose publish lecture series on Post-Brexit Britain
This three part lecture series from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Visiting Professor of Practice in Labour Markets and Innovation, Damon Silvers, unpacks the vice-like growth trap that Britain has laid for itself in the Post-Brexit period. Silvers, the former Policy Director of the U.S AFL-CIO, posits that to escape this trap, the UK will need to fundamentally rethink our entire economic strategy in the neoliberal era — watch it now on YouTube.
Decider App helps you choose appropriate decision making methods
Check out the Decider App, a browser based app or Slack integration that helps you choose the group decision making model best suited for your needs.
Featured Upcoming Events
The UK Democracy Network maintains a full database of events from across the democracy sector.
View the database here — Have we missed something? Add it here!
Featured Job Listings across the Democracy Sector
View the full database of upcoming job listings here — have we missed any? Add them via this form.
See you next time, add to your calendar
James, Max, Louise and the UK Democracy Network team