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Peter Riddell pays tribute to his Hansard Society Council colleague and the former Chair of the Society, after the sad news of the death of Lord Holme over the weekend. Peter said:
"Richard Holme, Lord Holme of Cheltenham, who died at his home in Sussex on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, was central to the expansion of the Hansard Society to its current size and prominence. He served for three decades on our Council and for six years as our Chairman, until June last year. Throughout, he displayed an uncanny skill and astuteness, both in spotting where the next opportunities lay for the Society and in his dealings with members of the Council, with staff, and supporters in Parliament and outside. He always saw the big picture and ensured that the Society was actively involved in new challenges affecting Parliament. Apart from the expansion of the Society under his Chairmanship - which largely overlapped with Clare Ettinghausen's period as Chief Executive - he set up a successful and influential commission under the Hansard Society's auspices into how Parliament should communicate with the public. This was chaired by Lord Puttnam, now a Vice Chair on the Hansard Society's Advisory Council.
"But, above all, Richard Holme had a zest and enthusiasm for politics, combined with a commitment to improving the way we are governed. His long involvement with the Hansard Society went alongside his leading part in the debate over constitutional reform and his role as a close adviser on strategy to David Steel and Paddy Ashdown as leaders of the Liberals and, then, the Liberal Democrats. Richard Holme was a generous, warm and witty man who will be much missed by all who knew him and everyone at the Hansard Society."
There are also obituaries of Lord Holme in The Times, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.
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Tuesday 20 May, 6 - 7.15pm, House of Commons
Speakers:
Richard Allan, Government Affairs Director, Europe, Cisco Systems
Bethan Jenkins AM, Member, Petitions Committee
Rt Hon Greg Knight MP, Chair, Procedure Committee
Andy Williamson, Director, eDemocracy Programme, Hansard Society
Chair: Pete Picton, Online Editor, The Sun
This event will debate the implications of the Procedure Committee’s recent report on e-Petitions, discuss what the next steps might be, how the process might work to ensure that the public are engaged and limit disillusionment with Parliament.
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The annual Audit of Political Engagement has become an important contribution to debate about the public's view of the political process since it was first published in 2004. Each Audit measures the nature and extent of political engagement and reveals where views have changed - and where they remain constant. It offers a yearly snapshot of political knowledge and engagement in Britain.
Audit 5 includes a special section on constitutional issues to discover how much the public know about how our constitutional arrangements operate, which areas they are satisfied with and which they think are ripe for reform. This report is a valuable source of information and debate for all those who are concerned with the health of our democratic system.
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Hansard Society eDemocracy Director, Andy Williamson, launched a new book at the end of April called Researching with Communities: Grounded perspectives on engaging communities in research.
It provides guidance, examples and discussions for researchers that are
aiming to promote a community voice in their work. This book looks at
the issues from an international perspective with chapters drawn from a
range of disciplines including; community development, mental health,
migration and refugees, and community technology. It draws on the
experiences of researchers and community practitioners to explore what
community based research means in a variety of settings and how it can
be carried out meaningfully, respectfully and inclusively.
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If you’re interested in doing a unique political internship in Westminster and studying British politics at the London School of Economics, you will certainly be interested in the Autumn 2008 Hansard Scholars Programme. 2008 really will be a fascinating time to be involved in British politics and you can be a part of this – witnessing the changes, conflicts and developments first hand as they emerge.