Hansard Society eNewsletter - April 2009
The
Audit of Political Engagement
The
'Obama effect' comes to British Politics
The Annual Audit
of Political Engagement carried out by the Hansard Society 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 6 has a special focus on the
public's attitudes to political participation and citizenship and explores
issues such as the degree to which people want to be actively involved in
decision-making locally and nationally, how influential in decision-making they
feel they are, and how satisfied they are with the system of governance in
Britain. This Audit indicates that an ‘Obama effect' may be developing among
British black and ethnic minorities (BMEs):
- 41% of BMEs agree that ‘when people like me get involved in politics, they
really can change the way that the country is run' compared to 31% of whites - a
10% increase since last year
- 42% of BMEs are ‘very' or ‘fairly' interested in politics -a 15% increase
since last year
- 43% think the present system of governing works well compared to 32% of
whites - the first time in six annual Audits that BME respondents are more
optimistic than whites
On 1 April we had a successful launch of Audit
6. Listen to the event and see photos
here.
HeadRoom
New
discussion space launched for under 18s
The HeadsUp
forums have been running since 2003 and are a great space for young people,
teachers and parliamentarians to come together. Since September young people
have debated issues with each other, politicians and decision-makers on crime,
citizenship and immigration.
Now the HeadsUp website will host debates
about current issues in the media outside the main forums in the HeadRoom.
This means that HeadsUp users will get involved in the political issues year
round and not just for the usual three (intense!) weeks. We would also like
young people to send
us their suggestions for topics - the only restriction is that it should be
about something currently in the news.
So if you know a young person who
would like to get involved in discussing subjects as varied as 'stop and search'
to the civil war in Sri Lanka send them to the HeadRoom.
European
Mock Elections
Connecting
young people with democracy
The Hansard Society's Citizenship
Education Programme is facilitating mock
elections in schools throughout the UK to coincide with the European
elections on 4 June. The election provides a perfect opportunity for schools to
explore issues surrounding democracy and justice at a European level. Teachers
can get hold of everything they need to run a mock election by visiting the Y
Vote website and by registering they receive additional resources and
support, all for free.
In a mock election pupils can stand as a candidate
from one of the existing political parties or they can create their own.
Manifestos are drawn up, speeches made and ballots counted – everything you’d
expect from a real election. Each school will submit their results and the
overall result for each constituency will be announced on 15 June.
The
Y
Vote mock elections project is supported by the Electoral Commission whose
aim is to promote integrity and public confidence in the democratic process.
For more information, contact Adam Wilkinson at a.wilkinson@hansard.lse.ac.uk
or on 020 7438 1221.
The
Scottish Parliament 1999-2009
BBC
Radio Scotland's Riddoch Questions - Tuesday 12 May, 12.30pm,
Edinburgh
This event
launches the Hansard
Society Scotland publication The Scottish Parliament 1999-2009: The First
Decade. It will take place at the Ten Years of The Scottish Parliament:
Achievements and Futures conference, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh.
Chair:
Lesley Riddoch
Speakers: Joyce McMillan (Chair, Hansard Society
Scotland Working Group); Nicola Sturgeon MSP (Deputy Leader SNP); Iain
Gray MSP (Leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament) and Tam
Dalyell (former MP).
Please RSVP to e.l.meghaughin@hansard.lse.ac.uk
or telephone Emma Meghaughin, Progammes Coordinator, Hansard Society Scotland,
on 0131 243 2750 for further information.
Elections
& The Electoral CommissionTuesday
21 April, 6pm, Committee Room 20, WestminsterThe next meeting of the
Associate Parliamentary Group on Constitution, Parliament and Citizenship, will
be on the theme of ‘Elections & The Electoral Commission’. With
Jenny
Watson, Chair of The Electoral Commission and
Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg,
University of Liverpool. This meeting is open to the public, no RSVP is
required. For further information, please contact: Dr Tony Wright MP, on 020
7219 5583