Hansard Society eNewsletter- October 2009
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HeadsUp Forum
Climate Change - How should the world summit tackle the problem? Sept 28 - Oct
16, 2009
The first in the 2009/2010 series of HeadsUp
forums kicked off this week with young people debating the hot topic of climate
change. This unique opportunity enables young people under the age of 18 to
debate with each other and to engage directly with policy makers,
parliamentarians and campaigners. Joan Ruddock MP (Minister, DECC) will be
taking the views and opinions of those taking part to the UN Summit in Copenhagen, giving their
perspectives a global reach.
This three week debate is taking place online now.
Click Here to view all of the comments by the legislators and young
people on the forum, registration is not necessary.
Twitter - Communication Tool or Pointless Vanity?
Wednesday October 21, 6pm, Portcullis House, Westminster.
The Hansard Society would like to invite you to an event discussing the merits
of the new social networking phenomena, Twitter. Does tweeting enhance
engagement, encourage deliberation and bring people together or merely
facilitate cyber self-indulgence? Jo Swinson MP will be among those debating
this widely contested topic. More information will follow soon.
Click
here to register for this event.
Parliamentary Affairs, October 2009 Issue
What do the public want from politics? Influence rather than involvement.
In the recently published October 2009 issue of Parliamentary Affairs,
Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society Parliament and Government
programme, demonstrates that, in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal,
proposals for more direct and participatory decision-making mechanisms fail to
take account of what the public really wants in terms of engagement and
participation.
The article, Engagement and Participation: What the Public want and how our
Politicians need to respond, shows that the public view of political
engagement and participation is far more complex than most are willing to
accept.
To read the article in full Click
Here.
A Speech by the Speaker
Parliamentary Reform: The Route from Here to There
The Rt. Hon John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, gave a speech to a
sizeable and eager Hansard Society audience at Portcullis House in Westminster last week.
The focus of the Speaker's speech was the role of the MP, their rights and
duties and, more importantly, their future in a newly reformed House of
Commons.
Mr Bercow laid out a 10-point plan encompassing his vision of reform in the
lower house, ranging from the collective rights and duties of MPs when they act
in committee to the institutional rights and duties of the House of Commons as
a whole. The Speaker was adamant that the House of Commons must change and will
change, predicting the outcome of Sir Christopher Kelly's committee to provide
the necessary blueprint.
Click
here to listen to the speech in full, to read the transcript and to see the
photos on Flickr
Parliamentary Launch of Citizens' Coalition for Public Service Broadcasting
Monday 2 November, Portcullis House, 5.30 - 7.00pm
This event launches a new non-partisan coalition consisting of a broad
mix of organisations, including the Hansard Society and concerned individuals
who believe that public service broadcasting is a public good. The launch, with
John Grogan MP, takes place on Monday 2 November at 5.30pm, Portcullis House.
Please RSVP to psbcoalition@googlemail.com
and visit www.publicservicebroadcasting.org.uk
for more information about the coalition.