Political parties must clarify plans for Citizenship Education, says Hansard Society - Jan 11, 2010
Election manifesto commitments needed
The Hansard Society, the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity, today welcomed the Speaker's Conference report on Parliamentary Representation and called on the political parties to come up with firm manifesto commitments to promote active citizenship and political literacy.
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. The Society strongly supports the Speaker's Conference recommendations that all secondary schools should have a fully trained citizenship teacher in post and that Government should do more to support organisations which are promoting active citizenship and political literacy. In addition, the Hansard Society:
- Calls on the political parties to include firm commitments to active citizenship education for young people and adults in their election manifestos
- Calls on individual MPs to act as a hub for political engagement in their constituencies, bringing together the organisations and individuals working to inform the public on how to participate effectively in the political process
Michael Raftery, Director Citizenship Education at the Hansard Society, commented: ‘The Speaker's Conference has come up with some challenging recommendations to improve parliamentary representation, but these will not be effective unless there is a strong political commitment to citizenship education from the political parties and individual MPs. Our research has shown that there is a demonstrable link between political engagement and levels of knowledge and interest. People can't fully engage in the democratic process if they don't understand it. Now is the time for the political parties to act.'
For more information contact Virginia Gibbons at the Hansard Society on 020 7438 1225 or 07812 765 552
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. http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/
- The Hansard Society's Audit of Political Engagement has been monitoring political engagement since 2004