Hansard Society eNewsletter - March 2009

Europe or America
Where is our Special Relationship Now?
Wednesday 18 March, 6.30pm, Westminster
This Democracy forum will consider, in light of the recent American election and the upcoming European elections, whether the special relationship that the UK has with America will continue with the new administration or whether we should turn our sights to Europe.

Chair: Fiona Booth (Chief Executive, Hansard Society)
Speakers: Charles Kennedy MP, Bronwen Maddox (Chief Foreign Commentator, The Times) and Mark Tokola (Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs, American Embassy in London)

Click here to attend

The Online Campaign
Solution or Smokescreen?
Tuesday 24 March, 10am, House of Commons
This Democracy Forum will discuss the use of online campaign strategies which are becoming increasingly important; encouraging grass-roots activism and enabling mass mobilisation.

Chair: Dr Laura Miller (Hansard Society eDemocracy Programme)
Speakers: Derek Draper (LabourList.org), Jonathan Isaby (ConservativeHome.blogs.com) and MarkPack (libdemvoice.org)

Click here to attend

Raw Deal or Told Truth?
Young People in the Media
The Hansard Society and the House of Lords have launched a new competition for young people aged 11 to 16 to express how they feel about media portrayals of their generation. Entrants are being asked to submit their views in a variety of forms, including film and newspaper articles focusing on portrayals of youth by all aspects of the media. The winners will be invited to the Houses of Parliament for a tour, and the chance to discuss their submission with the House of Lords Communications Committee. Also:

• Students form the winning group will receive £25 each
• All entrants receive a signed certificate from the Lord Speaker
• The submissions will be compiled into a report.

For more details please visit www.parliament.uk/holcompetition

Hansard Society submits evidence
The House of Lords Constitution Committee
Dr Ruth Fox gave evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee on emergency legislation. Emergency legislation, such as the Banking Act last year which facilitated the nationalisation of Northern Rock, has often been controversial. The inquiry is exploring the constitutional implications of this kind of legislation and the procedural changes that might now be necessary.

Dr Fox, Director of the Parliament and Government Programme, argued for a number of changes in the procedural process including: greater flexibility in the timetabling process to permit more time for scrutiny; the insertion of sunset clauses and renewal procedures into legislation to provide safeguards; and automatic post-legislative scrutiny of all fast-tracked bills.
 
You can hear an audio recording of the evidence session on the Parliament website. The Hansard Society also provided written evidence which will be published by the Committee in due course.

HeadsUp Forum
Crime in Britain: How Big is the Problem?
The current HeadsUp Forum debate is looking at whether crime in Britain is a real problem or whether the problem is exaggerated by politicians and the media. It will run until 13 March. 

These are just some of the comments and themes emerging on the forum:

• Capital Punishment - some comments so far suggested that young people support bringing back the death penalty. "Punishment should be a deterrant, anf I think that the ultimate detterant is execution."
• Prison - many comments have suggested that young people think prison is too easy. "We should give longer and harsher sentence."
• Age of Criminality - comments in the forum suggest that children know the difference between right and wrong early in life: "I don't think a minimum age for crime responsibility is right... we can tell the difference between right and wron by at least the age of 5"

All of the comments by the legislators and young people on the forum can be viewed here. Feel free to forward this onto any young people, teachers, youth workers etc!