UK Democracy Bulletin, July 2025

Issue #73 — July 2025

Fortnightly news, jobs, grants and gossip from across the democracy sector, brought to you by James Moulding 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

How you can get involved right now! Do these things 👇

Highlights

Votes at 16 UK Government announces lowering of the voting age
Supplementary Vote restored in English mayoral and PCC elections
Palestine Action high court grants judicial review of proscription
Stop Trump mobilising for 17th September demonstration
PACAC warns electoral system at risk of failing to cope under increasing pressures
Varieties of Democracy UK downgraded from ‘liberal democracy’ to ‘electoral democracy’
Suffrago hires more than 30 Local Democracy Reporters and plans expansion to 650

Thanks to our contributors this month

Thanks to everyone who sent us news, gossip & updates this month, this included: Annie Pickering — Climate Emergency UK, Daniel Haslam — Open University, Harley Wishart — University of Brighton, Rebecca Deegan — I Have A Voice, Harriet Andrews — The Politics Project, Katherine Knox — JRCT, James Bolton-Jones — Spotlight on Corruption, Flick Brown — Greenpeace UK, Emma Desouza — Civic Initiative, Mike Capek, Jagritee Senapti — Democracy:Differently, Semeyye Kocaman — Oxford Democracy Network, Perry Walker — Talk Shop, Tom Brake — Unlock Democracy, Nicky Milsted — JRRT and Andrew Gray — Suffrago.

#DemocracyJobs

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.

Rolling deadlines

Rolling deadline: Advisory Board at The Traveller Movement (voluntary)
Multiple roles: Association of Democratic Services Officers

Featured upcoming roles

Apply by July 30th: Area Organiser x4 at UNISON ( £46,910 per annum plus £3,489 Annual Subsistence Allowance)
Apply by August 1st: Media Assistant at Enact Equality (negotiable)
Apply by August 4th: Researcher, Energy and Environment at IPPR (£35,850 to £44,225 per year)
Apply by 11th August: Lead Organiser at Freedom From Torture / Asylum Reform Initiative (freelance)
Apply by August 12th: Comms & Engagement Assistant (Participation & Insights) at GMCA
Apply by August 15th: Manager / Researcher at Committee for Academic Freedom (28,000)
Apply by August 20th: Campaign Manager Compulsory Voting at The Constitution Society (£36,000)
Apply by August 22nd: Public Affairs Manager at The Muslim Vote (Competitive)
Apply by August 26th: Chair & Trustee at JRSST-CT
Apply by August 26th: Lead Community Organiser at Act Build Change

Who got the job? 🎉

Celebrating who got hired for open democracy roles.

Andrew Dolan (Director, New Economy Organisers Network) has joined the board of the Barry and Amiel Melburn Trust, congrats Andrew!

Sam Davis landed a new role at Involve as their new People and Culture Lead, congrats Sam!

Funding Democracy 💰

Blagrave Trust’s Challenge and Change Fund is back

Blagrave Trust’s Challenge and Change Fund is back! The C&C Fund exists to support 30 young changemakers with direct lived experience of issues they are working to address — and to move power away from adult-led initiatives that end up speaking for and controlling young people’s ideas. Applications open soon.

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust next grant round deadline — 1st September

Katherine Knox at Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) has written in to announce the next grant round deadline of 1st September — new applicants will need to register by Mon 18th August in order to apply. Find out more information here.

JRSST-CT seeking new Chair & Trustee
JRSST-CT is an independent democracy focused grant making charity connected to the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. The fund supports inclusive political participation, civic education and reform, with a strong focus on those most excluded from democratic power, such as young people, migrants, renters and people from minoritised backgrounds. The fund is looking for a new Chair and Trustee. For more information see the job listings here — deadline 26th August.

Civic Power Fund looking for a new Treasurer

The Civic Power Fund is recruiting an honorary treasurer to join their Board of Trustees. Find out more info and apply here.

Two new groups to join Paul Hamlyn’s Youth Strategic Investment Fund

GirlDreamer and My Life My Say will join Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Youth Strategic Investment Fund. These grants contribute £550,000 towards an organisation’s core costs, in addition to a package of expert support worth £175,000.

Welsh Government publishes evaluation of their recent Democratic Engagement Grant

The Welsh Government have also published their evaluation of the Democratic Engagement Grant here.

Democracy Sector 🗳️

UK Government announces 16 and 17 year olds to be able to vote at next election

In a major announcement, Rushanara Ali MP as the Minister for Democracy, has announced 16 and 17 year olds are to be given the right to vote through new election reforms. Harriet Andrews, Director at The Politics Project signalled that with this announcement ‘there’s real optimism that support for educators, practitioners and young people to ensure they have a meaningful vote and voice is finally on the horizon’.

Supplementary Vote to be restored, UK Government announces

The UK Government is to restore the Supplementary Vote system and scrap First Past The Post in PCC and English mayoral elections. SV was scrapped as part of the 2022 Elections Bill, a move vehemently opposed by the Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Matter and other democracy organisations.

V-Dem downgrade UK from Liberal Democracy to Electoral Democracy

Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a large-scale global research and monitoring effort run by the V-Dem Institute out of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, comprising more than 19 staff members, 56 specialists, 134 country coordinators and 4200+ country experts. Last month they released their latest annual report, Democracy Report 2025 — Democracy Trumped? 25 Years of Autocratisation, in which the UK has been downgraded from a ‘Liberal Democracy’ to an ‘Electoral Democracy’.

Stop Trump Coalition prepare for 17th September mass mobilisation

President Trump is due to visit the UK for a state visit on 17th September. The Stop Trump Coalition is preparing to welcome the U.S President with a large scale protest — see here for more information.

Migrant Democracy Project & Elect Her team up through Migration Exchange

Migrant Democracy Project (MDP) and Elect Her are to partner on supporting those with lived experience of migration to enter politics, build narrative power and organise their communities. Sign up here to find out more about the development of the project.

Led by Donkeys unveil giant banner opposite Labour HQ — Photo credit: Led By Donkeys, via Twitter/X

Palestine Action proscription — the latest
On July 4th, it became illegal to support Palestine Action, which is now listed as a proscribed organisation. Here’s what’s happened since:

Network for Police Monitoring have produced a guide for what the ban means in practice, and the danger and penalties faced by those challenging the ban — read now. Please note: Palestine Action is a terrorist proscribed organisation which it is illegal to support.

The Politics Project launch Roadmap to Votes at 16

Harriet Andrews and the team at The Politics Project launched Roadmap to Votes at 16, their new showcase of the best ideas, wisdom and practice on Votes at 16 drawn together from across the Democracy Classroom network. Minister for Democracy Rushanara Ali was also in attendance with members of the MHCLG team to support the launch.

Young people from across the UK gather to call for Votes at 16 — Photo Credit: The Politics Project

Join the Shout Out UK Youth Policy Development Group

If you are a young person yourself, or you know or work with people aged 14–25 who care about their voice being heard in national policy-making, please check out this amazing opportunity from Shout Out UK in partnership with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. They are looking for 20 people to join a new Youth Policy Development Group. Apply via the following survey link.

Pressure on system may put future general election results in doubt, PACAC report finds

A new report by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) says the 2024 General Election was well run but that there are concerns the ‘fabric may not hold’ if a future election result is close, as the system comes under increasing pressure.

Chair of PACAC, Simon Hoare MP praised the work of election workers but added: ‘our electoral system is at risk of no longer being able to cope as those running our elections are asked to do more and more. The Government must face up to these issues and ensure we continue to have successful elections in the future. If it does not, the price will be a crisis in our democratic system and that must be avoided.’ Read the report now.

The Constitution Society hiring for new Compulsory Voting Campaign Manager

Have you got what it takes to campaign for Compulsory Voting and push for its introduction in the UK? Deadline for applications 20th August — Apply now.

Rumour mill: Corbyn’s new Your Party apparently considering participatory approaches

Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have semi-launched a new party, named Your Party, and have gained 500,000 mailing list supporters in just one week. Sources close to the organising team behind the new project have remarked that people have been talking about assemblies and participatory approaches to their membership to Corbyn and the core team.

My Life My Say launch new v.16 campaign

My Life My Say has launched its national v.16 Campaign with high-profile events in London and Manchester. Hundreds of young people attended, with speakers including Minister Rushanara Ali, Sarah Olney MP, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, and campaign ambassador Sharon Gaffka.

Backed by organisations such as UK Youth Parliament, NUS, and the Electoral Reform Society, v.16 brings together young people, policymakers, and sector leaders to build trust and drive meaningful democratic reform. The campaign aims to form a cross-sector coalition to secure votes at 16 in all UK elections.

David Blunkett argues Govt must strengthen citizenship teaching alongside Votes at 16

Association for Citizenship Teaching Honorary President Lord Blunkett warns of the perils of not strengthening Citizenship as a national curriculum subject, as lowering the voting age comes into effect.

How can young people’s democratic needs be better met? Asks new PYL report

The Partnership for Young London report, produced in partnership with Royal Holloway University of London, developed by Dr Kaat Smets, Prof. James Sloam and Aine Bennett, offers policy recommendations and an analysis of the ‘polycrisis’ of young political participation in the UK. Read the report now.

Prototyping Hope: Lessons from the REWIRE civil society incubator

Unhack Democracy & Hope-Based Communications have been partnering to run Rewire Your Mind, Rewire Your Country — a new incubator focused on fundamentally ‘rewiring’ how activists think, feel and act, from reaction to creation, drawing on lessons and experiences across 15 civil society leaders draw from across Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

Planning, debating, prototyping — Photo credit: Unhack Democracy

Our House feature in new podcast by Accidental Gods

Legislative Theatre practitioner Katy Rubin and Oli Whittington of Our House teamed up to unpack the People’s Charter for People Power on the Accidental Gods podcast — Listen now.

July marked Disability Pride Month

The Greater London Authority are celebrating Disability Pride this month and have released a range of resources for organisations to share and help promote among their supporters and audiences, find out more here.

More in Common publish new segmentation of British voters and discuss their attitudes to democracy

A mammoth new report, Shattered Britain, from More in Common has just been published, segmenting UK voters in seven categories based not on how they vote, but based on their values and outlooks on life. Amongst much else, the report looks at what these seven groups think about the functionality of British democracy, their trust in the media, their faith in experts, their likelihood to engage with conspiracy theories, and their overall perception of politics and politicians. The picture they paint is bleak — but essential for campaigners to be aware of.

I Have A Voice launching new Campaigns Committee

The new Campaign Committee at I Have A Voice will work to support their youth led Politics For All campaign, assisting their youth ambassadors to build the campaign and run events that bring together young people and key decision makers. That’s not at all, their flagship Mentoring Scheme pairs up young people who are considering careers in the world of politics and campaigning with professionals in the sector.

New research exploring democracy in the English voluntary sector

Daniel Haslam at the Open University is starting a new research project ‘Open Societal Challenges’ looking into the actual and perceived roles of voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) in relation to democracy and the democratic deficit. If you are interested in this area and would like to discuss the research in more detail, contact Daniel.

Involve holds UK’s first Citizens’ Assembly on neighbourhood policing

In 2024 Involve facilitated a six month project to bring local voices into the debate around how communities are policed. The first of its kind, the project created a Citizens’ Assembly with 50 local residents of Walthamstow to discuss what the future of policing should look like in the area. The final report has just been published — check it out now.

European Cultural Foundation launches new Community Impact Map

The European Cultural Foundation has created an interactive Community Impact Map that tracks a whole host of grassroots projects across Europe that are connecting people and improving democratic ties. Check out the map to see how over 30 countries are changing from the bottom up.

Humanity Project to organise popular assemblies in 20 neighbourhoods over the coming years

RECLAIM officially closed at the end of May — but their legacy lives on. Humanity Project, a national project hosted by Community Organisers, is building on their work of grassroots organising to create ‘Assembly Culture’ — a project over the next two years working in 20 neighbourhoods with local organisations to create a host of bottom up Popular Assemblies to change how decisions are taken at a local level.

Oxford Democracy Network hosts academic programme on the idea of the ‘people’

Sumeyye Kocaman, DPhil researcher and founder of the Oxford Democracy Network, reports back on their series of events and discussions around the concept of ‘the people’. The next portion of their programme will be virtual, held bi-weekly on Thursday afternoons 14:00–16:30 London time from September 4th to April 16th. Their next programme will focus on ‘the elite — get in touch to find out more.

British politics has entered a new era of polarisation, says Stan Greenberg

Stan Greenberg — once advisor to Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Tony Blair — has conducted new polling on the state of polarisation in British politics. He finds that there has been a ‘tectonic shift’ in how voters perceive political parties. Voters are now solidly split along a liberal and leftist block, and a conservative, nationalist bloc — with voters showing almost no willingness to vote for the opposing bloc.

Democracy: Differently — a new podcast on democracy

Back for their third episode, podcast host Professor Keith is joined by Prof. Tom Hale (Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford), to discuss why democracy struggles with long term challenges like climate change, and what we can do about it. Listen now.

How to Save Democracy — new podcast out now!

Jon Alexander from the New Citizen Project and Omezzine Khelifa, an activist in the Tunisian Revolution and subsequently a politician in the country, have launched a new podcast exploring how we can rescue democracy from backsliding and abuse. The first four pilot episodes are out now. To get funding for a full first series they need to demonstrate appetite — so head over, have a listen and make sure to share it around!

Devolved & Local Democracy 👥

Senedd approves new regulations to support Disabled People standing for office

Last week, the Welsh Elections Financial Assistance Scheme (Disabled Candidates) Regulations 2025 were approved. These regulations are designed to remove financial barriers that prevent disabled individuals from standing for elected office by covering essential costs such as accessible transport, specialist equipment, and personal support.

The Talking Shop in sunny Cwmbran — Photo credit: The Talking Shop

The Talking Shop On Tour hits the road

Yvonne Murphy and The Talking Shop team are touring South Wales this week, packing up the kettle, the sofa, the tea trolley and bringing creative conversations to communities. You can catch them in Newport today and Merthyr Tydfil tomorrow.

LGA Debate Not Hate Survey 2025

The Local Government Association, which represents councils and councillors in England and Wales, has published a new Local Government Association survey of councillors, which has found that 52 per cent report that they have had untrue or misleading information about their political or personal conduct publicly published, with respondents warning of the ‘dangers to democracy’.

The report shows persistently high rates of reported abuse and intimidation, with seven in 10 councillors reporting experiencing these issues in the last 12 months and feeling personally at risk while fulfilling their councillor role. Find the full report online and contact Jessica.Norman@local.gov.uk for more information.

Civic Initiative publish new research on the Northern Ireland Citizens’ Forum on Housing

The research blog by Civic Initiative looks at the use of citizens assemblies in Northern Ireland and whether they could be key to unlocking NI’s potential. Find out more and read the research by Queen’s University Belfast here.

Climate Emergency UK launch local council climate actions scorecards

Climate Emergency UK and mySociety have launched their 2025 Council Climate Scorecards showing the progress all local councils are making around their climate goals. And as this is the second edition of Scorecards, the data allows users to compare their local councillors score to last year. They are also fundraising for the next iteration — please consider donating or sharing the crowdfunding link to your networks. Reform UK recently announced their councils intend to un-declare a climate emergency.

Taxpayer-funded restaurants to make a return
WW2 style state-sponsored restaurants where deprived families can eat for £3 are making a return. Back during the Second World War, British Restaurants were communal kitchens providing good quality food at low cost as part of an effort at boosting morale and guaranteeing a nourishing diet for all, regardless of class. Two pilot eateries are opening in Dundee and Nottingham, in a bid to provide nutritious meals and space for communities in deprived areas.

Democratic Reform & Innovation 💡

Campaigners hail major win as First-Past-the-Post to be scrapped for specific elections

The Government has set out plans in its English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill to abolish the First Past the Post voting system for mayoral and police & crime commissioner elections. The Electoral Reform Society said the move ‘is a big step in the right direction for improving confidence in our politics’, whilst Labour for a New Democracy said this should be taken as an important sign that the Labour government recognises that First-Past-The-Post is not fit for purpose as an electoral system.

mySociety consider election reform changes

Alex Parsons at mySociety, who mostly focus their contribution on the democracy between elections, focuses on evaluating the government’s new election strategy in a new blog post.

YouGov poll finds majority of Brits do not support votes for 16 and 17 year olds

Over half of Brits do not support extending the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds, according to recent YouGov polling. In fact, Labour voters are the only group to overall support the policy (46% support vs 43% oppose), whilst 55% of Liberal Democrats, 83% of Conservatives and 85% of Reform voters oppose the change.

Demos report calls for new relationship between citizen and state

A new report — Upgrading Democracy: A new deal to repair the broken relationship between citizen and state — suggests a democratic crisis in Britain and how a new relationship between citizen and state could help solve it. Alongside the ideas in the report, Demos will be working with partners over the coming year to design practical ways to achieve this change.

Open Letter calls on UK Government to shift power to local people

We’re Right Here is coordinating an open letter to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister calling for a shift in how power is shared. The letter calls for genuine decision-making power to be placed in the hands of local people — not just councils or mayors, but the grassroots organisations, volunteers, and community leaders who know their areas best. Sign it here.

IPSA to invite members of the public to take part in Citizens’ Forum

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has announced that it will be delivering letters to randomly selected households inviting members of the public to take part in a new Citizens’ Forum. In collaboration with the Sortition Foundation and the New Citizen Project, IPSA aims to use this forum to explore public views on how MPs should be paid and how their parliamentary responsibilities should be funded. This deliberate shift towards a more participatory process also seeks to engage people from diverse backgrounds in meaningful conversations about the role and significance of democracy.

Compassion in Politics calls for PMQs to be scrapped

Compassion in Politics has strongly criticised what they say was the ‘calculated humiliation’ of a visibly upset Rachel Reeves earlier this month, as the Leader of the Opposition taunted her saying she was ‘toast’. The campaign group says this behaviour raises fundamental questions about ‘how we do politics’, and they have written to the Speaker of the House calling for PMQs to be scrapped altogether. The organisation says PMQs brings politics into disrepute and has no place in a modern, functioning democracy.

New polling shows strength of public support for House of Lords reform

New YouGov polling for the UCL Constitution Unit shows overwhelming support for the government to go further in reforming the House of Lords. They found that 8 in 10 members of the public (79%) want restrictions to make sure the House of Lords doesn’t get any larger, 7 in 10 (71%) said the government should restrict the size of the upper chamber to no bigger than the House of Commons, whilst 6 in 10 supported removing hereditary peers altogether.

European Democracy Festival, more details released

Perry Walker at Talk Shop has announced more details of their prototype European Democracy Festival, coming this autumn. The Festival will see audiences working on a version of the Win Win Workout deliberative tool developed by Talk Shop, focused on two topics, European strategic autonomy and ultra processed food. Get in touch to find out more.

Democratising the Media 📰

Public Interest News Foundation launch toolkit for collaborative journalism

Working with academics and grassroots media outlets, the Public Interest News Foundation has developed and launched the Co-Creational News Media Toolkit. The toolkit challenges the top down nature of traditional journalism and outlines a co-creational approach rooted in four core principles: participation, truth-seeking, accountability and care. The new framework has the potential to dramatically change the local media ecosystem by putting communities at the heart of local journalism.

Suffrago hire dozens of Local Democracy Reporters in bid to transform the UK media landscape

With more than 30 Local Democracy Reporters working for Suffrago across the UK in key constituencies, they are aiming to expand to all 650 constituencies and in so doing transform the information available on local political activity to the average British citizen. Suffrago CEO Andrew Gray asks ‘If any fellow Democracy Network member has a message that they may want to get out, please contact Andrew Gray at andrew.gray@suffrago.org’.

Integrity & Transparency 📣

Scenes in Epping in recent weeks — Photo credit: Network for Police Monitoring

Network for Police Monitoring to establish a new Operations Group, can you help?

NetPol are looking for experienced campaigners to work alongside staff at NetPol on a limited voluntary basis. The volunteers will join their inclusive network of activists, campaigners, lawyers and researchers to create a forum for sharing knowledge, experience and expertise. Find out more information here.

Spotlight on Corruption publish new expert briefings on political finance

Spotlight on Corruption works to shine a light on corruption at home and abroad. This month they’ve shared several expert briefings with us, including:

Feeling the chill? Harley Wishart investigates the growing chilling effect on protest rights

Now a PhD researcher at the University of Brighton, former Democracy Network staffer Harley Wishart is exploring how anti-protest laws are impacting on freedom of expression and assembly — especially for those most at risk of criminalisation. Through their new Substack they’ll be sharing insights on protest, repression and resistance. The work is urgent, Harley says — just six months ago she hosted the panel discussion Feeling the Chill? at The Democracy Network Summit, opinions shared within it have since been criminalised. Follow for their latest insights.

RUSI highlight central role of AI in Russian influencing operations

Generative AI is no longer a concern of the future, the Royal United Services Institute remarks, and is now an active component of Russian-aligned influence operations. The report suggests increasing professionalism of the information war by Russia, emphasising AI as a force multiplier for grassroots cyber operations aimed at overwhelming and destabilising Western digital infrastructure and democratic cultures — Read the report now.

Global civil society groups call on UN to establish Special Rapporteur on Democracy

Although the UN monitors human rights through different rapporteurs, campaigners have pointed out that no specific rapporteur exists to monitor democratic freedoms. 175 civil society organisations and more than 500 activists are now calling on the UN to set up a Special Rapporteur on Democracy which would investigate electoral manipulation, judicial capture and civic space restrictions.

TI-UK to discuss lobbying transparency in Scotland, 3rd Sept

Join Juliet Swann to discuss lobbying transparency, Scotland’s lobbying register and to find out more about Transparency International UK’s (TI-UK) Open Access tool — which uses AI to enable easier interrogation and comparison of lobbying data at Holyrood and Westminster by topic. Register for the event here.

Donations and Democracy launch UK briefing on UK-US firms backing groups undermining democracy

Donations and Democracy, a US based group, is an independent non-partisan initiative run by volunteer international lawyers, associated with and advised by the International Advisory Network. They recently published a new report focusing on the connections between UK headquartered firms whose US subsidiaries or member firms have either donated to political actors in the US who voted against certifying the 2020 US election result or PACs which have donated to such campaigns. British firms include PWC, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, GSK, AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BP, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, WPP, Diageo, Bacardi, Rio Tinto, RELX, HSBC, Barclays, National Grid, and InterContinental Hotels Group, as well as Shell, Lloyd’s of London, Unilever (subsidiary: Ben & Jerry’s), Froneri (subsidiary: Häagen-Dazs), and Beazley. Read the report here.

Far-right mobilisations increase, NetPol release new resources for anti-fascists

With a rise in far-right mobilisations and violence in recent months, with large fascist mobilisations organised by neo-Nazi groups in Epping and Canary Wharf alarming local communities — Network for Police Monitoring have released new practical advice for those attending anti-fascist protests, focused on keeping your identity secure and first aid.

Police arrest man holding Private Eye cartoon under terrorism charges

Jon Farley held a placard of a Private Eye cartoon, highlighting what Ian Hislop called ‘hypocrisies of government approach to any sort of action in Gaza’, and was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 at a Leeds pro-Palestine demonstration. Farley was bailed and told not to attend any ‘Palestine Action rallies’ and was then later contacted by a counter-terrorism officer who then told him he would face no further action. Hislop (who has not faced arrest for the cartoon) called the arrest ‘mind boggling’ and said the cartoon was ‘quite blatantly an example of freedom of speech on the subject of a government policy’. Please note: Palestine Action is a terrorist proscribed organisation which it is illegal to support.

The offending cartoon — Photo credit: Steve Johnston for the Guardian

Government ban on public servants speaking at public events is damaging, says Institute for Government

A new edict from No10 prohibits senior health officials, military leaders and civil servants from speaking openly in public or taking part in any public question and answer sessions. The Director of the Institute for Government, Hannah White, criticised the move saying it comprises one of the most important principles of public life — openness.

Labour hasn’t done enough to restore trust since taking office, says Full Fact

Despite promising to clean up politics and restore faith in the political system, Full Fact says the government has done little to achieve these goals within its first year. Amongst the shortcomings they cite; a failure to establish an Ethics and Integrity Commission, a weak Ministerial Code which is yet to become statutory, and little action to address the crisis of misinformation in Britain. With recent polling pointing to a dire crisis of trust in the political system, more needs to be done, says Full Fact — and fast.

Denmark passes new legislation to combat deepfakes

Denmark made headlines recently following the passing of new legislation which aims to tackle the creation and spread of ‘deepfakes’. The first law of its kind in Europe, it does so by giving people copyright to their own features, thereby strengthening protections against digital imitations of people’s identities.

Pro-democracy tech 🤖

Did you miss TiCTEC — the world’s key conference on civic technology?
Don’t fret, mySociety, who host and organise the major conference on pro-democracy technology have published a full range of talks online via their YouTube.

Even a college for political technology can’t improve on post it notes — Photo credit: Theodore Keloglou

Newspeak House faculty retreat to Tan-Y-Garth in Wales for a weekend of retrospective and reflection

This weekend, the faculty of Newspeak House — the London College of Political Technology, fled the big smoke for the forest and hills of Pontfadog to reflect on the past year and plan for the new year ahead. The faculty welcomed several new members to its ranks including data governance expert Anouk Ruhaak, wargaming expert Alex Vince and chat expert John Evans.

Greenpeace looking for organising tech, can you help?

Flick Brown at Greenpeace UK is currently reviewing their tech for volunteers — if you know of any excellent digital organising tools that are GDPR compliant, get in touch: getactive.uk@greenpeace.org

Democracy Graveyard 🪦

Commemorating the projects that are no longer with us, and informing future efforts.

You can view the Democracy Network’s extensive database of former projects here.

Campaign Bootcamp

After nine years of working to better equip those most affected by injustice with the skills, confidence and community they needed to run powerful campaigns, Campaign Bootcamp closed shop in 2022.

Campaign Bootcamp was founded in 2013, by a collection of campaigners who were concerned that a lot of high profile campaigning was being led by people who had little to no experience of injustice and inequality.

Over 17 bootcamps, training and inspiring more than 1,000 people, they worked to disrupt the UK campaigning space — and have helped build the foundation for the change we see today.

Happy bootcampers — Photo credit: Guerilla Foundation

And now for something completely different …

Is it possible to predict voting intention with brain waves?

Campaign Lab is hosting an event with Dr. Emmanuel Mahieux who will be discussing the insights of a study he did in San Antonio, Texas, in the weeks preceding the 2022 state Governor election. He’ll be discussing whether we can learn anything from electrical brain waves about voters’ political beliefs and if we can predict from this which way undecided voters might swing.

ConSoc note the the rise of constitutional conspiracism

Whilst the article published on The Constitutional Society dates back from 2023, David Klemperer’s blog on the rise of constitutional conspiracism is just as important two years on, with several groups among the Democracy Network reporting having faced issues relating to the ‘New Chartist Movement’ and other groups.

See you next time,

James, Max and the Democracy Network team