UK Democracy Bulletin, October 2025

Issue #74 — October 2025

Monthly 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 👇

1. Join the Democracy Network as a member
2. Introduce yourself on the Democracy Network WhatsApp Community
3. Sign up to our upcoming Coworking & Drinks event
4. See the latest democracy jobs & add your own
5. Check available democracy funding
6. Explore the Democracy Map
7. Share your news to the UK Democracy Forum Mailing List

Highlights

• Samantha Dixon MP new democracy minister
• EHRC warn government over Palestine protest policing
• JRRT publish new strategy
• Citizen Network publish new SOS Democracy report
• Open Rights Group to coalesce new NO2ID alliance
• Research for Action launch two key reports on council finances and failures
• Public Interest News Foundation launch new collaborative journalism toolkit
• Labour and Reform lambasted for banning journalists from conferences and councils

#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 5th October: Director of Programmes and Learning at Barrow Cadbury Trust (£99k)
• Apply by 5th October: Staff Writer at The Dispatch, Birmingham (£25–30k)
• Apply by 5th October: Staff Writer at The Mill, Manchester (£25–30k)
• Apply by 6th October: Safe Sick Pay Campaign Director/Operations Director at The Centre for Progressive Change (£60k — £68k)
• Apply by 14th October: Community Organiser at Make Votes Matter (£28k)
• Apply by 16th October: Digital Organiser at Migrant Democracy Project (£1,500k p/m)
• Apply by 20th October: Chair at Democracy Club
• Apply by 20th October: Challenge and Change Officer at The Blagrave Trust (£27 — £28.5k)
• Apply by 31st October: Business Development Manager at Society Works (£40k-£50k)
• Apply by 1st November: Climate Democracy Program Coordinator at People Powered ($63,5k — $79k)

Who got the job? 🎉

Celebrating who got hired for open democracy roles

Meet CrownShy, a new pioneering deliberative democracy organisation

Andy Paice has just started a new role as the Head of Engagement and Facilitation at CrownShy. CrownShy is a new organisation, bringing together an inspiring core team of leaders from deliberative democracy, civic tech, and data science, who’ve shaped platforms and processes such as Polis, vTaiwan, Zooniverse and Citizens’ Assemblies. CrownShy recently won a CivTech challenge with the Scottish Government — but they’re also hiring!

Lastly, and importantly — In the spirit of open-source innovation, they’re creating ‘The Convergence’ a bi-monthly call as a free, communal space for practitioners, developers, and researchers to strengthen ties, cross-pollinate ideas, and drive innovation across the civic deliberation field — sign up here.

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.

Ofcom to tender out for media literacy & disinformation work

Having recently published Informed Voices: developing critical thinking skills for democracy, Ofcom are soon to tender out work on media literacy and disinformation to support their new duties under the Online Safety Act. Applying organisations for the new tender should have:

• Existing relationships with youth organisations and/or schools and colleges in both Scotland and Wales
• Extensive experience consulting and co-producing with young people
• Experience producing and delivering quality programmes and/or materials across the UK, including quality programmes on media literacy or democracy education
• Existing relationships with key stakeholders across the UK relating to media literacy and democracy education
• Social media channels with an engaged audience of young people

Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust to fund a range of exciting new projects

JRRT has announced new funding for some exciting projects — details below. And check out the full list on their website.

The Ferret: Charting the threats to democracy, rights and participation

£47,806 over one year to investigate how targeted disinformation campaigns threaten to undermine the democratic process in Scotland, and chart how these campaigns are focusing on issues surrounding marginalised groups who are often excluded from civil participation.

Migrant Democracy Project: Our Home Our Vote 2025–2026

£73,283 over one year to continue developing their Our Home Our Vote campaign and to persuade the Government to extend the right to vote to all residents.

Generation Rent: Reforms to register more renters to vote

£39,159 over one year to maximise the potential of the Elections Bill and other government activity to increase voter registration rates among private renters.

Politics Project: Votes at 16 Youth Strategy Day

£9,985 to coordinate an in-person youth day for young people across the UK campaigning for Votes at 16, and to support a parliamentary roundtable for young campaigners and MPs in parliament.

Democracy Sector 🗳️

Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust publish new strategy and funding guide

JRRT has launched a new strategic plan focused on confronting the erosion of trust, political inequality, and systemic threats like disinformation and the influence of monied interests in UK democracy. The strategy prioritises institutional resilience, protest and expression rights, electoral reform, and measures to rebalance power — particularly for underrepresented groups.

Over the 2025–2029 period, JRRT plans to redirect grantmaking toward these core democracy-strengthening goals while closing marginal programmes and refocusing on transparency, long-term funding, and intersectional racial justice work. Well worth reading the Chief Executive’s blog unpacking the new strategy. In addition to the new plan, they have also published a new and updated funding guide, a must read for any prospective applicants.

Join Democracy Network for Democracy Coworking & Drinks in London, October 22nd

Meet fellow practitioners, activists and professionals from across the UK democracy sector at our coworking & drinks event next month at Newspeak House in East London. If you’re working on a democracy project or organisation, or just keen to meet people that do, come along and join us for a coworking day this October — Sign up now. ​Feel free to drop in at any part of the coworking day, for all of it or just part of it — the more the merrier.

New Democracy Minister — Samatha Dixon MP

Democracy has officially joined the list of things the government thinks are a health and safety hazard. The UK Government last month appointed Samatha Dixon MP as the new Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy.

Elon Musk tells protests to ‘fight back or die’ at UK’s largest far-right rally in decades

More than 110,000 people took to the streets of London last month for the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march organised by far right activist Tommy Robinson. Attendees were addressed by a number of far-right speakers including; Robinson, Katie Hopkins, Lawrence Fox, Ben Habib (leader of the new Advance UK party), Ant Middleton, and Elon Musk, who joined via video link to tell attendees that ‘violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth’..

Labour initially drew strong criticism for failing to condemn the march after Peter Kyle said the march was proof that ‘free speech, free association was alive and well.’ Starmer later stated the UK will never surrender to far-right protestors and condemned Musk’s remarks. CEO of Hope Not Hate, Nick Lowes’ book; How To Defeat The Far Right, was published last week.

Democracy Club looking for new Chair

Could you be the next Chair of the Democracy Club board? This is a voluntary role for their board of non-exec directors. The deadline for applications to the position is 20th October — see more information.

Citizens Network publish new SOS Democracy report

Published on the International Day of Democracy, authored by Henry Tam and developed by Citizen Network, Unlock Democracy and Compass, the major new report Democracy SOS proposes an 8 step programme to developing a ‘real and robust democracy’.

Elect Her to host Be A Councillor Day on 11th October

Elect Her are running workshops and clinics every week, training candidates and encouraging women to stand and support democratic engagement. A few weeks ago they ran the Young Women’s Summit in the Scottish Parliament. Get involved, support Be A Councillor Day and find out more.

Decelerator to host Deceleration Assembly

Hosted by Iona Lawrence and the team at Decelerator, the day conference is a place for those in civil society organisations at times of transition. Whether you’re in an organisation that’s winding down due to financial constraints, or you’re helping someone step away from their role, or you have the feeling ‘something is ending here, I don’t quite know what to do with that — how can I be useful’ — this is the place for you. Birmingham, 15th October, 10 til 4.30pm, sign up now.

Network for Police Monitoring tips for staying safe on anti-fascist demonstrations

As far-right rallies and activity proliferate across the UK in recent months, the Network for Police Monitoring have republished their resources for staying safe on anti-fascist protests — check it out now.

Democratic disillusionment key to uniting Reform’s voter coalition

New research from More in Common finds that Reform UK’s potential voter ceiling could be as high as 49% as they could turn out a significant number of non-voters. The report also finds that democratic disillusionment is key in uniting Reform’s voter coalition. Three quarters of Reform voters are dissatisfied with the state of democracy in Britain, and 59% believe the UK is not a genuine democracy at all.

Your Party launch mired in public infighting

Back in July, the new left wing party Your Party launched, garnering more than 800,000 signups in just a few weeks. Co-led by Zarah Sultana MP and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn MP, the launch of the party has already spurred the self-organisation of hundreds of burgeoning local groups, and more than 20 large scale regional assemblies are being organised alongside a national conference with participants elected by sortition — developments that could bolster the salience of such methods.

However, in a spectacular series of events, the party’s co-leaders engaged in a public spat, alienating many of their supporters and halting their planned membership rollout. Whilst events are still unfolding, chief Kremlinologist of the British left Archie Woodrow, has unpacked the details of the party’s rise and deflation (here, here and here).

Zack Polanski wins 85% of Green Party leadership vote in landslide poll

Zack Polanski has won a landslide victory in the Green Party leadership contest, winning over 85% of membership votes in the vote. The dramatic vote signals a change from co-leadership back to a single leader again and a change in policy and communication styles by the party. The Green Party has benefited from a surge in membership in recent weeks, to around 75%, with an additional bounce attributed to the Your Party split between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

Keseb launches the Keseb Democracy Champions’ Pocket Guide

The new guide by Keseb is a digital resource hub offering key trends, frameworks, and strategic recommendations — distill extensive resource into easy to read modules including ‘Cultivating Pro-democracy Civil Society Coalitions’, ‘Navigating and Countering Closing Civic Space’ and ‘Reimagining and Innovating for Inclusive Democracy’. Read the guide now.

Demos’ Collaborative Democracy Network returns this autumn — want to join?

The Collaborative Democracy Network brings together politicians, campaigners, civil society and policy makers to discuss how best to put citizens at the heart of policy making. The group returned this autumn for an event on ‘reimagining the social contract’ which took place on September 18th. Sign up to the network to be part of this evolving conversation and get all the latest news and event info.

Open Rights Group to coalesce new NO2ID alliance

James Baker and the team at Open Rights Group are working to bring together a new coalition against the introduction of new National ID proposals. The group is likely to include Big Brother Watch, Defend Digital Me, Liberty, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Index on Censorship, Migrants Rights Network and other organisations.

Naked Politics delivering free democracy workshops for schools

Naked Politics are delivering our democracy workshops in schools across London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Cardiff, and they’d love to hear from teachers who might be interested. The free workshops are designed for 15–18 year olds, equipping students with the knowledge, skills and confidence to take part in grassroots democratic action and understand how people power shapes change. Contact Naked Politics’ admin officer Bella Frimpong for more info.

Bond organising webinar discussing civic space, charities, democracy and campaigning challenges

The upcoming Bond panel discussion on October 23rd looks at what’s going on in civic space and what we can do about it, with a specific panel on charities and democracy, where Bond will be discussing the challenges charities face when campaigning. Sign up for the event.

New PhD opportunity explores public opinion and the far right

Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) is recruiting a full-time doctoral researcher for four years to join the POLHYBRID project on political conflict in hybrid media systems, with a dissertation emphasis on far-right support, symbolic divides, and opposition to feminism and universities. The application deadline is 9 November 2025, with the position starting on 1 January 2026. View the role here.

Compassion in Politics’ ‘Truth in Politics’ campaigns gathers pace

The Truth in Politics campaign gathered pace recently as CEO of Compassion in Politics, Jennifer Nadel, joined author and sustainability expert, Mike Berners-Lee, for a live constituency meeting in which they called on MPs to boost transparency in our political discourse. They are now looking to hold more constituency meetings in theatres and meeting spaces across the country to develop the campaign — get in touch if you have a theatre or public space you can host them in.

Democrafest postponed

Democrafest was a planned festival of democracy, looking at the big questions facing Britain right now. Unfortunately Democrafest has had to postpone this year.

Devolved & Local Democracy 👥

Join Democracy Group Cymru for a Senedd elections update

With the Senedd elections fast approaching next May, contact Jessica Blair, Director of ERS Cymru, to join the upcoming elections briefing on 22nd October at 10am.

Scottish Parliament publishes blueprint for deliberative democracy

The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee has released a new report setting out a ‘Blueprint for Participation,’ recommending People’s Panels be embedded as a routine part of parliamentary scrutiny. The report highlights evidence that panels build trust, improve scrutiny and broaden citizen involvement, while recognising the need for proper resources and evaluation. If adopted, four panels will be run in the next session (2027–2030), with the Parliament committing to track impact and share learning across Scotland and beyond.

Research for Action publish new report on making councils’ financial info more accessible

The new research by Research for Action in collaboration with the University of Sussex proposes a series of urgent recommendations for making council finances less opaque. The report finds that even as authorities declare bankruptcy, when scrutiny of local finances are more important than ever — even experienced researchers and accountants struggle to find and understand local authority financial information. Read the urgent report now.

But that’s not all, with the second reading of the English Devolution Bill, which includes the establishment of a Local Audit Office, Research for Action argue we need to see more detail on this proposed new body and exhibit concern that the reforms are not strong enough, given the task at hand.

Welsh Government publishes review of deliberative engagement on climate policy

The Welsh Government has carried out a review to explore new, more deliberative forms of involving the public in decision making to inform its approach to developing Net Zero and climate related policies in Wales. The review sets out a range of ways deliberative methods can help, including helping to bring in more diverse voices into policy making, increasing the legitimacy of decisions made, and more.

New guide explores how councils fail and what the government can do about it

Research for Action has begun a new project exploring how the government is intervening in struggling councils and what the implications are. As part of this new project they have released a guide which covers how councils are supposed to function, how they got into this crisis and explains why and how the government is currently intervening.

Democratic Reform & Innovation 💡

Campaign groups submit recommendations to improve political life for female MPs

ElectHer and Compassion in Politics have submitted recommendations to the Modernisation Committee to improve political life for female MPs after research highlighted a number of archaic traditions were creating deep frustrations. The submission calls for:

• A shift to family-friendly hours, so MPs with caring responsibilities can take part fully
• Standardised sitting hours to create more predictability in speaking times and support efficiency and participation
• An end to divisive and set-piece debating traditions to ensure respect, inclusion and genuine accountability

APPG for fair elections publishes ‘ready to go’ blueprint on electoral reform

The APPG for Fair Elections has published a proposal for a National Commission on Electoral Reform to address the issues with First Past The Post. The published Terms of Reference suggest ways to independently review how Parliament is elected, promote a national conversation, and build consensus on a way forward. The initiative would also involve establishing a deliberative voters forum as one of the commission’s supporting bodies.

English Devolution Bill passes second reading bringing electoral reform a step closer

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill has passed its second reading by 365 to 164 votes. While the bill covers many areas, democracy campaigners have celebrated in particular that this will bring England a step closer to scrapping First Past The Post for Mayoral and Police Crime Commissioner elections — something which has been in place since 2022. The bill now enters committee stage.

First ‘House of the People’ meets to set out citizen-led ‘People’s Charter’

Assemble recently organised the first ‘House of the People’ — a group of 100 people, selected via sortition, who gathered in London to deliberate and debate. The group created the ‘People’s Charter’ setting out a range of policy proposals for the government to adopt including: a wealth tax, strengthening anti-corruption laws, an immediate arms embargo on countries breaking international law, and the long-term decommodification of housing.

New report explores how proportional representation could quell the rise of the populist right

Compass has released a new report — The Temper Trap: How Proportional Representation Tames the Populist-Right, exploring how PR could moderate Reform UK’s radical agenda. Drawing on international examples from Finland, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands, the report shows how PR can force populist-right parties into coalition governments which helps to water down their more extreme positions.

Poll shows 16 and 17 year olds support lowering the voting age — but many feel unprepared

New research from More in Common shows the majority of 16–17 year olds (59%) support lowering the voting age — but there are still big splits amongst this demographic on whether they feel informed enough to vote. Just under half of this age group (46%) said they felt informed enough to vote in an election. Meanwhile, the exact same percentage said they do not feel informed enough. In focus groups, participants called for stronger political education in the school curriculum to prepare young people for the change in legislation.

New report maps the spread of privatisation and calls for greater democratic ownership within UK economy

Commonwealth has published an expose on the privatisation of key UK industries, suggesting as much as £200bn has been paid to shareholders since they were privatised. The report also states that individual households have been paying a ‘privatisation premium’ of £250 since 2010 alone. The authors call for a radical overhaul of the system to ensure the ‘basics of life are democratic, accountable and run for people rather than profit’.

Democratising the Media 📰

Reform UK ban DeSmog and New World journalists from party conference

In a move described as coming straight out of ‘the authoritarian playbook’, Reform UK has come under fire for refusing DeSmog and New World journalists entry to their party conference. Reporters Without Borders said it was ‘shocking to see’ this kind of selective press entry, with the party offering no reasoning behind why the outlets were barred. The move comes shortly after Reform UK’s leader of Nottinghamshire Country Council banned his councillors from speaking to the Nottinghamshire Post following critical coverage of the party in the local newspaper.

Labour Party bans journalists from Labour Party conference, NUJ responds

Guardian journalist Owen Jones was banned from Labour Party conference this week, reportedly due to his questioning Labour MPs over ‘complicity in genocide’. Similarly Novara Media’s Rivkah Brown also had her press pass removed, whilst journalists from Declassified UK were also denied entry. National Union of Journalists General Secretary Laura Davison responded.

Check out Journalism Support Exchange

Journalism Support Exchange is a new tool for US based journalists and organisations, thanks Joe Mitchell for sharing this with us.

Reform Party bans reporters from talking to council leader

The Nottingham Post and its online site Nottinghamshire Live have been barred from speaking to Nottinghamshire Council’s Reform council leader Mick Barton. The ban apparently breaches the council’s own codes of conduct. The ban has become global news, even mentioned in the US Congress. Nottinghamshire county council declined to comment, but the Guardian covered the story.

Liberal Democrats write to Ofcom over BBC’s Reform UK coverage bias

The Liberal Democrats have written to Ofcom over what they claim is unfair and excessive coverage of Reform UK by the BBC. They took particular issue with the broadcaster’s coverage of a Reform UK press conference in which Farage announced his immigration policy, with coverage running all day on the BBC’s home and politics page. Best for Britain lodged a similar complaint over Sky News’ coverage of Reform’s press conference in early August.

How can independent newsrooms unlock charitable status and boost their funding?

The Charitable Journalism Project has published a new handbook breaking down everything indie newsrooms need to know about unlocking charitable status in the UK. For many local, public-interest publishers, charitable status could unlock vital new funding streams, from grants to donations and tax relief.

X (formerly Twitter) created a staggering amplification of hate during 2024 far-right riots

False claims on X spread rapidly after the murders in Southport, contributing to violent racist riots across the UK says new Amnesty International research. Amnesty’s analysis links X’s design and policy choices to the amplification of content which incited violence against Muslims and migrants. ‘One year on, even with the arrival of the Online Safety Act, it appears nothing has changed’ — Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK Chief Executive at Amnesty International UK.

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’.

Public Interest News Foundation becomes sponsor of APPG for media

Public Interest News Foundation is now a sponsor of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on media. This means they will join cross party debates on the future of the media sector, enabling them to put independent, local public interest news at the heart of these conversations.

New fund announced to support young investigative journalists in Wales

Award-winning investigative journalist, Will Hayward, has launched a £10,000 fund to support budding investigative journalists in Wales. Successful applicants will receive between £150 and £500 to support their work which must focus on one of the following topics: climate change and biodiversity loss, poverty, the rise of the far right and/or political extremism, misinformation/disinformation.

Integrity & Transparency 📣

Pressure grows on government over Palestine Action proscription

More than a thousand people have now been arrested as part of protests against the proscription of Palestine Action, with more than 867 arrested in a single day last month in London. More than 90 people were arrested outside the Labour Party conference this week alone. Defend Our Juries say that their protests will significantly escalate on 4th October.

Metropolitan Police have urged the government to cancel the proscription of Palestine Action after the terrorist attack in Manchester this week.

Equality and Human Rights Commission warns government over human rights compliance

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has sent a formal letter to the Home Secretary expressing deep concern that proposed immigration and policing policies risk breaching statutory human rights obligations. The EHRC urges immediate revisions to ensure adequate safeguards, transparency, and compliance with the Equality Act, especially for protected groups, and to facilitate the legal right to protest. The EHRC also raised concerns about police engagement with individuals not linked to any proscribed organisation, such as those simply holding Palestinian flags.

Leaked documents suggest Boris Johnson may have used public funds to land private deals

Documents leaked from Johnson’s private office to Distributed Denial of Secrets — a non-profit that publishes leaked or hacked information — have provoked concern that the ex-Prime Minister used public money to secure private business deals since leaving office. Johnson has received £182,000 through the public duty costs allowance (PDCA) since 2022, which exists to support ex-PMs with public duties. Unlock Democracy is now calling for a full investigation and an assurance that rules and standards will, in the future, be ‘Boris-proofed’.

Defend Our Juries launch crowdfunder to defend the rights of jurors

Defend Our Juries are campaigning to protect and raise awareness of the crucial right of juries to acquit based on conscience, which is currently being severely challenged and undermined, they argue. Find out more information and check out their fundraiser.

Shooting of Charlie Kirk draws strong condemnation from democracy campaigners

The killing of Charlie Kirk became another dark day in the history of US political violence. The Index on Censorship called it ‘horrifying’, reiterating the need to meet difficult view points with ‘words, not bullets.’ The Journal on Democracy has made publically available an article published in October 2024 by Rachel Kleinfeld and Nicole Bibbins Sedaca — How to Prevent Political Violence — which highlights the steps leaders and governments can take to prevent future aggression.

Calls to proscribe UKIP following leader’s Nazi salute last month

UKIP leader Nick Tenconi and his supporters were filmed making Nazi salutes last month in Bournemouth, leading to calls for the party to be proscribed as a far-right group. Tenconi later responded that there was ‘nothing Nazi-esque about the gesture’.

UK migrants rights organisations encouraged to remove identifiable information

Migrants rights organisations in the UK are being advised to secure their personally identifiable information from websites, blogs and social media in a general effort to limit or prevent any potential attacks or doxxing from far-right groups. This comes after a steadily increasing number of charities and those who work with them have been attacked directly both online and in some cases in print media.

New tool reveals transparency loopholes around APPG funding

The Byline Times reports that companies are using funding loopholes to conceal how much money they are funnelling into APPGs. Under current rules, it is impossible to know how much a company is giving to an APPG when they are funding the secretariat, rather than the APPG directly. Byline Times reports that companies such as Lockheed Martin and News UK may be using this loophole to disguise the amount of money they are actually funnelling into specific APPGs. Relatedly, mySociety have been doing a lot of their own work lately analysing APPG memberships.

Involve highlights UK democracy backsliding

Involve has warned that the UK’s democracy is in decline, pointing to shrinking civic space and new restrictions on protest. Citing recent arrests at peaceful demonstrations and international watchdogs downgrading the UK’s democratic status, the piece argues the country risks sliding towards authoritarianism. Involve calls for stronger participatory democracy and protection of free expression as essential to reversing this trend.

Pro-democracy tech 🤖

Co-designing ‘Waves’ — Local Trust reflects on first steps behind the €1m AI tool project

For the last few months New Local has been working with democracy organisations and software developers to build ‘Waves’ — an AI tool designed to make it easier and cheaper to gather views and foster deliberation. In this reflective blog New Local discusses the challenges and progress they’ve made in creating what is set to be pioneering new technology for the sector — and what the next steps look like.

Newspeak House fellows produce range of civic tech tools

Newspeak House is the London College of Political Technology, a civic and political technology community space and a pioneering residential political technology college for a cohort of twenty students each year. This year students produced a range of projects as part of their final assessments, including Yung-Hsuan Wu’s Not A Stranger AI-powered immigration email drafter tool and Claddagh Niclochlainn’s National Procurement Policy Statement pipeline app.

State.com launches new iOS platform for citizens and MPs

State uses AI tech to break down the barriers between people and politics, giving everyone a faster, clearer way to be heard, they say. State allows citizens to make statements on issues they care about, and the platform amplifies their voice by connecting it with similar concerns across the UK which MPs then receive as organised insights, enabling them to respond at scale via the platform.

Citizens can vote on upcoming legislation, while MPs can send polls directly to their constituents and everyone can see a live priority list of what issues matter most at any given moment, providing the infrastructure for a participatory and accountable democracy, they argue. Check it out now.

Nesta’s Zeitgeist tool being prepared for use in citizens assemblies

Lewis Westbury, a Senior Developer with the Centre for Collective Intelligence Design (CCID) at Nesta, who’s been working on their digital democracy platform Zeitgeist, says they have ambitions to roll out the tool in future citizens assemblies. Zeitgeist has been used in local deliberation on flooding, coastal erosion and water quality with Southend City Council and other areas.

Political Studies Association to host January conference on digital democracy

The Political Studies Association’s Media and Politics Group & Technology, Information and Policy Group are to host Navigating Digital Democracy, a new conference in Bournemouth on 8–9th Jan exploring the intersection of various sectors in shaping democratic practices and governance. The conference will also host a remote-only video conference on the 7th January. Find out more information.

And now for something completely different …

Socialudo — Serious play for social change

Founders Professor Vikki McCall and Professor Alasdair Rutherford set up a new social enterprise to help diverse groups plan and think about how we future-proof society. Socialudo design, develop and deliver serious games to help organisations tackle hard problems.

Their flagship game Hopetown sees players take the roles of policy maker, service provider, community group or property developer in a fictional town to better understand how different organisations, service providers and the public interact to improve the lives of the public. See their recent report on how the game fared in Southwark.

Gaza Project wins the Investigative Journalism For Europe Impact Award

Manisha Ganguly, Investigations Correspondent at The Guardian, and the team behind the Gaza Project have won the Investigative Journalism For Europe Impact Award (IJ4E). The judge remarked: for its methodological rigour under extreme constraints; its innovative use of satellite analysis and photogrammetry; its collaboration across borders and newsrooms; and its commitment to accountability when accountability is hardest, the IJ4EU jury recognises The Gaza Project with an Impact Award.

The Investigative Journalism for Europe Impact Award strengthens the watchdog role of investigative journalism in Europe. Its focus on supporting cross-border projects acknowledges the increasingly transnational nature of public-interest stories and disburses more than €2m in grants to cross-border journalistic teams.

See you next time,

James, Max and the Democracy Network team