Hansard Society welcomes PM’s proposals to strengthen democracy - 3 Sept 2007

The Hansard Society, the UK’s leading non-partisan political research and education charity, welcomes Gordon Brown’s plans to involve citizens in dialogue and deliberation.

Hansard Society Chief Executive, Fiona Booth commented: ‘The Hansard Society plays a leading role in the public debate about how to improve parliamentary democracy in order to strengthen our representative system and we welcome the Prime Minister’s proposals to reinvigorate democracy through citizen juries, a national citizens’ summit and, in particular, a Speakers’ Conference.

‘An all-party Speakers’ Conference working to achieve consensus on issues of disengagement, specifically among young people, is a particularly encouraging step forward. Together with the proposals for parliamentary and constitutional reform set out in the Green Paper, The Governance of Britain, published in July, there is a real opportunity to address the critical problems of disengagement and disillusionment with the political process. We urge Government, Parliament, the political parties and society as a whole to work together to make the most of this opportunity.’

For further information, contact Virginia Gibbons at the Hansard Society on 020 7438 1225 or 07812 765 552 or email mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk

Editors’ Notes

• The Hansard Society is the UK’s leading non-partisan political research and education charity which exists to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public involvement in politics.
• The non-partisan Hansard Society has an unrivalled record of research and recommendations, many of which have been adopted by Parliament.
• The Hansard Society’s Citizenship Education Programme works with young people through schools and colleges to educate and inform them about parliamentary democracy and develop innovative ways to involve them in participatory democratic activities.
• A Speakers’ Conference is a formal inquiry into the arrangements governing elections. It is chaired by the Speaker of the House and comprises members from all political parties. The current Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Michael Martin MP, is President of the Hansard Society.