30 Years of Scrutiny - Select Committee Conference

The Hansard Society, House of Commons and Study of Parliament Group held a very succesful conference celebrating 30 years of select committees, in the Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, with over 130 attendees. It was very interesting with a wide variety of views: people who were instrumental in setting up the current committee system; parliamentary specialists; academics; Clerks of the House of Commons and the House of Lords and members of the Hansard Society. The event consisted of three panels:

The origins and evolution of select committees
Chair: David Natzler (Clerk of Committees) Speakers: Gavin Drewry (Royal Holloway, University of London), Chris Price (former Chair of the Education Select Committee), Bill Proctor (former clerk to the Procedure Committee)
This looked at how the departmental select committees were established and provided some inetersting thoughts for those tasked with taking forward further reforms such as regional committees.

The challenges for scrutiny
Listen to the audio
Chair: Dr Meg Russell (Constitution Unit, UCL) Speakers: Peter Luff MP (Chair of the Business and Enterprise Committee), Sir Nicholas Monck (former Permanent Secretary and member of the Better Government initiative) , Helen Irwin (former Clerk of Committees)
This session looked at some of the key challenges faced by select committees over the last thirty years, for example what impact have select committees had on government. 

The future of select committees Listen to the audio
This final session from the Hansard Society looked at how the departmental select committee system has perhaps been part of a growth in the culture of scrutiny by committees. It considered what possibilities select committees offer for further reform and development of the House of Commons.
Chair: Dr Ruth Fox (Hansard Society) Speakers:Professor the Lord Norton of Louth (University of Hull) Peter Riddell (The Times and the chair of the Hansard Society) Tony Wright MP (Chair of the Public Administration Select Committee)

The papers from the event will be on this website for free download soon. 

Read the papers from this event.  

Young people raise interesting views on politics

At our democracy forum Young People: Who cares what they think? the speakers and audience discussed what, exactly, should be the contribution of under-18s to politics?

- Are young people properly represented in our democratic system?
- Are young people's views best expressed by those with more life experience?
- Which is more important - representation or experience?

The discussion was really interesting and the young people in the audience raised some excellent points about issues such as 'votes at 16' and some interesting views on the citizenship education that they receive in school. Click here to listen to the event and see photos

What lessons should Westminster learn from Holyrood?

The Hansard Society Democracy Forum, What lessons should Westminster learn from Holyrood? marked the London launch of the Hansard Society Scotland publication The Scottish Parliament 1999-2009: The first Decade .The event took place in Westminster on the May 19 with a packed room and lively debate.

The Democracy Forum brought together key political and legal experts on the Scottish Parliament to discuss what the UK Parliament could learn from the last 10 years of  the Scottish Parliament. The speakers were Joyce McMillan (Chair, Hansard Society Scotland Working Group), Lord Wallace of Tankerness (former Leader, Scottish Liberal Democrats); Peter Wishart (SNP Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson) and Michael Clancy OBE (Director,  Law Reform The Law Society of Scotland). The event will be covered on Today in Parliament on Radio Four this Friday (May 21).

Young People: Who cares what they think? Why politicians should listen to under-18s

Wednesday 10 June, 6.45pm, Portcullis House, Westminster

Chair: Michael Raftery (Hansard Society Citizenship Education Programme)

Speakers: Jo Swinson MP, Emily Beardsmore (Chair, British Youth Council), Gerald Owusu MYP, Meryl Roberts (Labour activist)

A Hansard Society Democracy Forum to discuss what, exactly, should be the contribution of under-18s to politics?

The panel of speakers will give their views, followed by audience and panel discussion.  Attendance to this event is free.

Click here to attend

Why Vote? - Hansard Society Scotland Hustings Series

The Hansard Society organised a series of Why Vote? debates and hustings in Scotland in the lead up to the European elections in June, in partnership with the European Movement and the CSPP

Launch of the Audit of Political Engagement 6

The sixth Audit of Political Engagement was launched today in Parliament to a full house. The MPs who spoke at the event had varying views on how best to engage the public with politics and the 'Obama effect' in the UK: Shahid Malik MP said that democratic governments must govern in the interests of all society, not just those with the loudest voices; Shailesh Vara MP said that he disagreed with positive discrimination and that people should be elected, like Barack Obama, on their own merit; Jo Swinson MP pointed out that when politics and politicians have a bad reputation it creates a spiral of disengagement.
Listen to the full event
See the photos

Europe or America: where is our special relationship now?

Wednesday 18 March, 6.30pm, House of Commons, Westminster.

This Hansard Society Democracy Forum examined the ‘special relationship' between the UK and the US in the context of the recent presidential elections and the forthcoming Euro elections.

Chair: Fiona Booth

Speakers: Charles Kennedy MP; Bronwen Maddox, Chief Foreign Commentator, The Times; Mark Tokola, Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs, American Embassy; Caroline Flint MP, Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

You can listen to the event: 

Part 1 Charles Kennedy MP; Mark Tokola, American Embassy 

Part 2 Bronwen Maddox, The Times; Caroline Flint MP

Part 3 Q&A

Citizens or Consumers - which does a democracy need more?

A Democracy Forum that discussed the implications of globalised forces upon democratic engagement.

Wednesday 28 January 2009, 6pm, Portcullis House, Westminster. 

Chaired by: Virginia Gibbons (Hansard Society)

Speakers: Dr Vincent Cable MP (Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader & Shadow Chancellor); Ken Livingstone; Angela Knight (Chief Executive, British Bankers Association); Tony Travers (Director, Greater London Group, LSE)

This Democracy Forum, with reference to the current financial crisis, discussed whether we are passive consumers of globalised forces, or whether we have an active role to play as citizens in a democracy. The speakers were all excellent. Tony Travers made the distinction between citizens and consumers, saying that citizens acted as a collective as opposed to the individualism of a consumer. Ken Livingstone, as well as recounting amusing anecdotes about his time as Mayor, discussed the need for the return of power to local government who can then be held accountable for their actions by local citizens, citing the 'choice' in schools and hospitals as an example of failed centralisation of power and treating citizens as consumers.

Dr Vince Cable gave some interesting examples of the tensions between an individual's role as a citizen and a consumer in the current financial crisis, for example as a self-interested consumer in hard times the instinct is to save money, however we are told that as citizens our duty is to spend and keep the economy going. Angela Knight agreed with some of Ken Livingstone's points, however she suggested that the removal of power from people to institutions such as the European Union, whilst not necessarily wrong, had left people feeling less like citizens and politicians must be honest in these tough times to combat that.

Listen to the panel:

Tony Travers (LSE) & Ken Livingstone

Dr Vince Cable MP & Angela Knight (British Banker's Association)

Engaging online: Getting citizens back to the centre of democracy

On October 29, 2008 the Hansard Society held a seminar in the Scottish Parliament to explore the different characteristics of online engagement. Organised in collaboration with Microsoft, the session focused not simply on the technology but also on the impact of organisational culture and the broader context of citizen disenfranchisement.

Revitalising Politics Conference

The Revitalising Politics: have we lost the plot? conference took place on November 5/6 2008 in Parliament. It was organised by the Hansard Society and Professors Gerry Stoker (University of Southampton) and Colin Hay (University of Sheffield).

Visit the Revitalising Politics website to read and comment on all the conference papers and the keynote speeches by Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP and Chris Huhne MP.

Read press coverage

Making Politics Fit For Purpose

The Political Studies Association/Hansard Society 2008 Annual Lecture was given by Rt Hon Clare Short MP to a packed meeting at Westminster.

The Political Studies Association/Hansard Society Annual Lecture was introduced by Fiona Booth (Chief Executive, Hansard Society) and Prof Vicky Randall (Chair, PSA).

Click to listen to the Clare Short MP's speech and the Q&A session. View the photos.

Clare Short's speech:

‘It is widely agreed that the confidence of the people of the UK in their political system has been deeply undermined in recent years. Many agree that this cynicism is bad for democracy and believe that we must do more to educate the public in the workings of the political system. My own conclusion, after 25 years in electoral politics, is that our system is deeply flawed and visibly deteriorating in both the quality and democratic accountability of its decision-making. I suggest therefore that public education is likely to increase rather than decrease public cynicism and what is needed is a more determined demand for reform of the system.'

The PSA/Hansard Society Annual Lecture given by Rt Hon Clare Short MP was shown on BBC Parliament on Saturday November 1, 2008 at 10pm.

Hansard Society at 2008 SNP Conference

People Like Us: Is Scottish Society fairly reflected in Holyrood?

Saturday 18 October, 12.30-1.30pm, at the Royal George Hotel in Perth.

No Politics, Please ….We’re Women!

Over 90 people attended a Hansard Society meeting in Westminster to discuss a new briefing based on original Hansard Society research about women's attitudes to politics. The panel was:  Helen Goodman MP (Government Whip), Ros Taylor (The Guardian), Dr Jonathan Dean (Gender Institute, London School of Economics), and Lee Chalmers (the Downing Street Project). The event was chaired by Dr Sarah Childs (Bristol University).

Click here for a full write up, audio and the research paper.