-
Most MPs use Facebook for one-way communication not campaigning
Today, the Hansard Society launches MPs on Facebook, the first in a new series of short Digital Papers examining how parliamentarians are using social media.
MPs on Facebook shows that while over half (51%) of Liberal Democrat MPs have a presence on Facebook, the figures for Labour and the Conservatives are 15% and 9%, respectively.
The research identified three main types of usage: campaigning, communication and personal:
- 46% of MPs are using Facebook primarily as a communications tool
- 31% of MPs are using Facebook primarily to canvas and campaign
- 13% of MPs are using Facebook primarily for personal information
- 10% of MPs' Facebook pages are ‘inactive'
-
The Hansard Society held the first ever Speaker Hustings in Parliament on June 15 where potential candidates for the post of Speaker took questions from MPs. It was streamed live on the BBC news website and we twittered throughout the event to keep people up to date with the proceedings as they happened.
All of the participants spoke for 5 minutes, setting out their manifestos. MPs then asked questions, including Douglas Carswell MP, Stephen Pound MP, Ann Cryer MP, Martin Salter MP, Ann Milton MP, George Howarth MP, Michael Moore MP, Chris Mullen MP and quite a few more! On June 22 it was announced that John Bercow MP had won the election and is the new Speaker of the House of Commons.
The participants were:
- Margaret Beckett MP
- Sir Alan Beith MP
- John Bercow MP
- Sir Patrick Cormack MP
- Parmjit Dhanda MP
- Sir Alan Haselhurst MP
- Sir Michael Lord MP
- Richard Shepherd MP
- Ann Widdecombe MP
- Sir George Young MP
Listen to the event
See more photos on flickr
-
The Hansard Society a briefing paper
for reform of the House of Commons drawing on 20 years of research work
and recommendations to strengthen Parliament. The blueprint was published to coincide with
the first ever Speaker Hustings held in public view, and before the
media, hosted by the Hansard Society. It can be downloaded for free here
Among the blueprint proposals recommended by the Hansard Society are:
- Business Committee for the House of Commons
to put control of the parliamentary timetable in the hands of a cross
party body of MPs rather than leaving it in the control of the
executive.
- Parliamentary Finance Office, modelled on
the US Government Accounting Office, would provide individual MPs with
independent expertise and advice on financial matters, empowering them
to better scrutinise public spending and taxation proposals.
- A shift towards a committee based culture
in the House of Commons with the main chamber taking on a plenary
focus. Select committee chairs and members should be elected by MPs not
party whips, the work of committees should be better integrated into
wider parliamentary activity and more time should be set aside for the
detailed work that committees undertake.
- A system of e-Petitions, managed through a
new Petitions Committee, to help revitalise public engagement with
Parliament. Hansard Society research shows that the public are more
likely to sign a petition than to engage in any other form of
democratic activity. This has to be properly integrated into
parliamentary procedures.
- The appointment of a Chief Executive to
professionalise the organisation and operation of the House of Commons.
At present the House is managed by the Clerk of the House. Clerks are
expert professional advisers on constitutional and procedural issues.
They are not experts in management, budgets, human resources and
logistics. A Chief Executive should take on these responsibilities.
-
The Hansard Society, House of Commons and Study of Parliament Group held a very succesful conference celebrating 30 years of select committees, in the Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, with over 130 attendees. It was very interesting with a wide variety of views: people who were instrumental in setting up the current committee system; parliamentary specialists; academics; Clerks of the House of Commons and the House of Lords and members of the Hansard Society. The event consisted of three panels:
The origins and evolution of select committees
Chair: David Natzler (Clerk of Committees) Speakers: Gavin Drewry (Royal Holloway, University of London),
Chris Price (former Chair of the Education Select Committee), Bill Proctor
(former clerk to the Procedure Committee)
This looked at how the departmental select committees were established and provided some inetersting thoughts for those tasked with taking forward further reforms such as regional committees.
The challenges for scrutiny
Listen to the audio
Chair: Dr Meg Russell (Constitution Unit, UCL) Speakers: Peter Luff MP (Chair of the Business and Enterprise Committee), Sir Nicholas Monck (former Permanent Secretary and member of the Better Government initiative) , Helen Irwin (former Clerk of Committees)
This session looked at some of the key challenges faced by select committees over the last thirty years, for example what impact have select committees had on government.
The future of select committees Listen to the audio
This final session from the Hansard Society looked at how the departmental select committee system has perhaps been part of a growth in the culture of scrutiny by committees. It considered what possibilities select committees offer for further reform and development of the House of Commons.
Chair: Dr Ruth Fox (Hansard Society) Speakers:Professor the Lord Norton of Louth (University of Hull) Peter Riddell (The Times and the chair of the Hansard Society) Tony Wright MP (Chair of the Public Administration Select Committee)
The papers from the event will be on this website for free download soon.
Read the papers from this event.
-
If you’re interested in doing a unique political internship in the Houses of Parliament, a UK government department, a campaign organisation or the media, as well as studying British politics at the London School of Economics, there's still time to apply for the Autumn 2009 Hansard Scholars Programme. 2009 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.