Publications
All publications available from the Hansard Society are listed below. Click on a publication from the list for more information, prices and details of how to order.
P&P charges are as follows:
£3.50 for a single publication within the UK
£5 for multiple publications and overseas orders
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Digital Dialogues Third Phase Report: August 2007 - August 2008
An independent review into the use of online technologies to enhance engagement between central government and the public.
Digital Dialogues 3, a new report from the Hansard Society, shows that government can successfully use the internet to engage, consult and build public trust - providing it follows a few simple rules:
* Government departments must be adaptable and willing to take risks;
* Transparency and timely feedback to participants is essential;
* Government departments must be clear about the purpose of the consultation and the ways that participants' contributions will be used;
* The right people - ministers and senior policy makers - must be involved;
* Evaluation is essential to ensure that departments learn and improve on the basis of experience.
For more information, click here
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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Law in the Making: Influence and Change in the Legislative Process is the most recent publication to be launched by the Hansard Society.
"Law in the Making is a fine piece of scholarship, which is forensic, balanced and informative. It is a thorough exploration of how policy ideas gradually evolve into binding law" – Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
This original, in-depth research carried out by the Hansard Society,
analyses the influences and elements that come together in making an
act
of Parliament. It looks at the role of external actors such as, the
media, voluntary organisations, governmental bodies, professional
associations and businesses, as well as Parliament and government
departments in the process of making the law.
This two year study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, draws upon the findings from five detailed case studies and over 80
exclusive interviews with ministers, MPs, peers, government and
parliamentary officials and pressure groups. The case studies examined were:
The Export Control Act 2002;
The Equality Act 2006;
The Immigration,
Asylum and Nationality Act 2006;
The Legislative and Regulatory Act
2006;
The Welfare Reform Act 2007.
The research tracks these, along with selected Private Members Bills, through all the various
stages of the legislative process.
For more information, click here.
This publication costs £10 (+ p&p). To order please click here
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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As well as the annual comparisons of political engagement, Audit 5 includes a special section on constitutional issues to discover how much the public know about how our constitutional arrangements operate, which areas they are satisfied with and which they think are ripe for reform. This report is valuable source of information and debate for all those who are concerned with the health of our democratic system.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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There has been increasing speculation that the next UK general election might produce a parliament in which no single party holds a majority of seats - a ‘hung parliament'. It is over 30 years since the last hung parliament so what would be the modern day consequences for Parliament, the political parties, individual MPs, and the public? Would a hung parliament strengthen Parliament and better reflect the wishes of the electorate or would it render government indecisive and unstable?
This edited collection of essays from distinguished commentators, academics and parliamentarians discusses the implications of a hung parliament and presents a range of different views on the subject.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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Digital Dialogues is an independent review of ways in which central government can use information and communication technology to engage the public.
The report contains evaluations of 12 case studies, including Downing Street webchats, the Secretary of State for the Environment's blog and the FCO's forum on the European Youth Parliament. The report concludes that government has made good progress in online engagement from a ‘standing start’. The report concludes with 10 recommendations to government relating to how it can sustain its use of social media.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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P4tF addresses the use of the internet by Parliament to provide information to the public, to promote legislative scrutiny and to enhance representation, and seeks to map: How technology has been used in these areas to date; which technologies or processes may emerge in these areas over the next five years;
and how Parliament can plan strategically towards future ICT investment and provision.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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Lord Parekh with commentaries by Kate Jenkins, Dr John Chipman and Lindsey Hilsum.
This fifth publication in the Democracy Series brings together leading experts to consider whether democracy is a universal good and whether it should be actively promoted. The publication debates: whether democratic values can or should be exported from one country to another, how democracy can best be promoted and sustained and if the tensions between religious based democracy and liberal democracy are able to be resolved.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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By Alex Brazier, Susanna Kalitowski and Gemma Rosenblatt.
Law in the Making is an initial discussion paper from the Hansard Society’s major research project looking at how laws are made and the influences that are brought to bear on the legislative process. A final report looking at Parliament’s impact on legislation will be published in spring 2008.
This project is generously funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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Hansard Society/Electoral Commission report.
The fourth Audit undertaken jointly by the Hansard Society and the Electoral Commission. It considers the barriers to greater political participation; what people want from MPs and from political parties; and what, if anything, people are prepared to do to be involved in politics.
If you would like to order this publication, please click here
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Professor Paul Webb with commentaries by John Healey MP, Geoff Mulgan and Baroness Shephard.
The fourth publication in the Democracy Series discusses the role of political parties in the 21st century. How can they improve their relevance to the public? How can they engage more closely with local communities? How can they respond to a changing democractic system?
If you would like to order this publication, please click here