Representation of women in politics

This month marks two years since the Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation published its report and to date little progress has been made in implementing its findings.

Today, the report will finally be discussed by MPs after the Backbench Business Committee scheduled a debate on parliamentary representation on a motion proposed by Dame Anne Begg MP (who was the vice-chair of the Speaker’s Conference). 

The Hansard Society has updated our Women at the Top briefing paper setting out some of the latest statistics about the representation of women in politics and public life in the UK today.

Parliamentary Affairs

Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics

Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics Discounted rate for Hansard Society members The latest issue of Parliamentary Affairs (October 2011) contains a variety of articles including an examination of women in Irish politics, an analysis of the Wright Committee reforms and an analysis of the SNP's draft constitution for Scotland.

Connecting Citizens to Parliament

Connecting Citizens to Parliament explores which communities and social groups are not engaging with Parliament, why and how this might be redressed. It concludes that connecting with ‘hard to reach' groups cannot be achieved by a sudden radical change of approach, but demands a number of smaller cumulative step-changes, many of which Parliament can initiate or suggest but cannot necessarily lead.

The Connecting Citizens to Parliament research is based on a quantitative survey of 2,005 adults and five qualitative semi-structured focus groups. It confirms that social class and age are the strongest determining factors for engagement. Barriers to engagement include:

• Parliament itself because of arcane traditions and the complexity of its processes and procedures
• The narrow range and overall lack of parliamentary coverage in the media
• Weaknesses in the delivery of political literacy education in schools, in the community and voluntary sector
• The dearth of informal learning opportunities through public libraries and social networks.

Parliament 2020: Visioning the Future Parliament

Parliament 2020: Visioning the Future Parliament - international research from the Hansard Society  - demonstrates that effective political literacy education and greater use of digital media are priorities to bridge the gap between elected representatives and the public.

The focus of Parliament 2020: Visioning the Future Parliament is on how parliaments can improve processes, enhance communication and better engage with citizens. The participants in the research project comprised parliamentarians, parliamentary officials and members of the public from four countries (Australia, Canada, Chile and the UK).

Audit of Political Engagement 8

The eighth Audit of Political Engagement was launched on March 30 in Parliament.  

The Audit series provides a statistical context to everyday speculation about the state of political engagement. In doing so, the Audits indicate the degree to which attitudes and behaviour change year-on-year and allows a fuller picture of participation and interest in politics.

The report shows that while last year's momentous political events increased the public's interest in politics to a record 58%, there was no matching rise in political or civic activity. Beyond voting, people were no more likely to get involved or participate in politics than they are in non-election years.

The Audit research also examines public attitudes to Parliament. While the public's knowledge of Parliament has increased, satisfaction has decreased.

At the launch event a packed room heard Rt Hon Peter Riddell , Chair of the Hansard Society preside over a panel consisting of Mark Harper MP - Minister for Political & Constitutional Reform, Lord Archy Kirkwood - Chair, Information Committee, Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP - Chair of Labour's Social Action Forum.

The report's authors Dr Ruth Fox and Matt Korris presented the report's findings.

Download the Audit of Political Engagement

Copy of presentation

Listen to the event:

Presentation by Dr Ruth Fox and Matt Korris/ Mark Harper MP

Lord Archy Kirkwood

Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP

Questions and answers:

Part one

Part two

Making Better Law: Reform of the legislative process from policy to Act.

Making Better Law: Reform of the legislative process from policy to Act (by Ruth Fox and Matt Korris) is the most recent publication from the Hansard Society. Making Better Law (ISBN: 978 0900432 78 1) costs £15 (plus £3.50 p&p)

Making Better Law examines the legislative process, from policy to Act, analysing the political, procedural and cultural factors that together help determine the quality of the UK statute book. 

The recommendations provide an essential road-map for comprehensive reform of the legislative process if Government and Parliament are to improve the quality of law-making in the future. 

The internet and the 2010 election

There  was no pivotal moment at which we entered the age of internet politics but the 2010 election shows how the internet has become a ‘business as usual' space for people and, with this, for politics and campaigning.

With contributions from some key election observers and practitioners, this short volume sets out to cut through some of the hype that surrounded the election and provide some empirical evidence of the internet's place in the election and also assess what realistically we might expect from the internet. Edited by Rachel Gibson, Andy Williamson and Stephen Ward and with contributions from Mark Pack, Matthew McGregor and Will Straw, this volume lifts the lid on what really happened online and stands as a reference on the 2010 election and an informative guide to anyone interested in political campaigning online.

Download The internet and the 2010 election putting  the small ‘p’ back in politics? here.

What's trust got to do with it?

Politicians have rarely been trusted, and the expenses scandal did not therefore lead to a collapse in trust in politics and politicians because levels of trust were already so low. But public dissatisfaction with politics is based on deeper problems than lack of trust in MPs and Parliament. This new briefing paper identifies the more urgent challenge as being the decline in the relevance of politicians and political institutions to people’s everyday lives.

What’s Trust Got To Do With It? recommends that MPs should concentrate on reforms to tackle lost satisfaction, relevance and influence rather than trying to address trust.

To download a copy of the briefing paper, please click here.

Political parties are digital followers not leaders

Behind the Digital Campaign, a new report from the Hansard Society published today, examines the work done by the political parties' digital teams in the build up to the 2010 election. It demonstrates how their strategies have been influenced by digital campaigns in other countries and outlines the development of the ‘perpetual campaign'. It concludes that while the internet unlikely to lead to dramatic changes in the electoral landscape in this election, there are some noteworthy aspects to the general election digital campaign:

* UK political parties are largely followers not innovators

* Digital media is more effective in personality-led campaigns than party-led campaigns

* Expenditure and experimentation during the pre-election period has led to the ‘perpetual campaign' building communities of supporters to mobilise during the election period

* Third-party and single-issue digital campaigns are more likely to increase political participation and knowledge

* Social networking tools influence political activists, insiders and the media - stories generated on blogs and Twitter generally only reach the public when mainstream media take them up

Who Governs? Forming a coalition or a minority government in the event of a hung Parliament

Authors: Professor Robert Blackburn (Professor of Constitutional Law at King’s College London) and Dr Ruth Fox (Director of the Hansard Society’s Parliament & Government Programme), Oonagh Gay (Chair, Study of Parliament Group), Lucinda Maer (Senior Research Clerk, House of Commons Library).

The Hansard Society and the Study of Parliament Group have published a new pamphlet on hung Parliaments. Who Governs? Forming a coalition or a minority government in the event of a hung Parliament examines what will happen in the event of an uncertain general election result this year – with particular focus on the implications for Parliament, but also looking at issues such as financial markets, how long it will take to resolve and the role of the Queen.

Download the full briefing paper here.

For press queries please contact Virginia Gibbons on 020 7438 1225 or mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk