Involving young people in democracy
Extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds would deepen and strengthen British democracy
Reducing the age of enfranchisement from 18 to 16 would not just ensure that young people’s views were listened to, it would also take advantage of the growing political awareness of this age group, as evidenced by the Scottish Independence referendum campaign, evidence from overseas, and some research from the UK, according to Vittorio Trevitt. Similar PostsThe […]
The task for those who care about democracy is to translate the new ways of political engagement into effective action
Over recent weeks, Democratic Audit has been looking at ways to re-engage young people with politics for our ‘Beyond the Youth Citizenship Commission’ in collaboration with Huddersfield University’s Dr Andy Mycock. In the latest instalment of this series, Chloe Smith MP argues that though the internet cannot replace politics, it can be a useful supplement, with online-based youth […]
Meaningful scrutiny, or a PR stunt? Experts respond to Ed Miliband’s proposal for a ‘Public PMQs’
Is Ed Miliband’s idea for a “public Prime Minister’s Questions” a good one? Following on from part one of our ‘Ask the Experts’ piece, we asked the Hansard Society’s Matt Korris, Huddersfield University’s Andy Mycock, and Christina Leston-Bandeira to join Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin in giving their view on whether this is a public relations […]
20 things we learned about democracy in July 2014
July 2014 was a quieter month for democracy, with things settling down into a lull for the summer. But that doesn’t mean that nothing of note happened, with Sean Kippin bringing you the latest instalment of our 20 things we learned about democracy series, which is once again bursting with choice nuggets of democracy information […]
Young people support the democratic process, but do not feel that they can exercise real influence over decision-making
As part of our series on youth participation, in this post Matt Henn and Nick Foard share findings from survey research into young people’s views of politics. They show that young people are supportive of the democratic process and want to participate in. However, the experience of elections is frustrating, with politicians seen as remote and self-serving. They […]
A recent Involve and Westminster University event illustrated the challenges presented in marrying technology to democracy
A recent event co-hosted by Involve and the University of Westminster’s Centre for the Study of Democracy tackled the question of whether democracy and technology were friends or foes. In reporting on the event, Involve’s Sonia Bussu shows that the event’s speakers were alive to the challenges inherent in bringing technology to bear on democracy, […]
Citizenship education should give young people the skills and knowledge to participate in political debate on social media
Young people engage increasingly interact on social media, including engaging in political debate. Mark Shephard, Stephen Quinlan, Stephen Tagg and Lindsay Paterson have studied this form of discussion, and believe it offers potential to increase political literacy and engagement. However, there are important lessons that need to be learned by users of social media platforms, including about the […]
Votes at 16: Seeking a more enlightened debate on youth disengagement from politics
Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whether it is right to re-examine the UK’s minimum voting age. The aim of the publication was to heighten the level of debate around the issue, an aim which one of the contributors, Andrew Mycock, shares. Here, he argues that one of […]
Five minutes with John Curtice: “In over 60 opinion polls, only one has ever seen a majority in favour of Scottish independence”
Strathclyde University’s polling and public opinion expert Professor John Curtice recently spoke at an LSE event on the forthcoming Scottish independence referendum. Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin took the chance to speak to him. They discussed the prospect of a ‘Yes’ vote, the demographics at play in the election, and an independent Scotland’s party make-up. Similar PostsYes or no, the […]
Political parties need to better integrate young members and give them the chance to influence policy
Most major political parties have youth wings, run by their young members. But with party membership declining, Emily Rainsford has considered how parties might better engage their young members and recruit others. In this post, part of our new series on youth participation, she argues for more integration of young party members into decision-making structures. Similar PostsYoung […]
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