Involving young people in democracy
20 things we learned about democracy in January 2015
Christmas is over, 2015 is here, and the General Election we are constantly being told is only a matter of (tens of) days away. As the locomotive that is British democracy chugs back into gear after its winter break, we are left, as ever, questioning whether we actually learned anything new. Fortunately, Democratic Audit UK’s Sean […]
Tackling political inequality requires a “carrot and stick” approach
The UK’s political and democratic system are under severe strain, with declining turnout and increased apathy threatening the legitimacy of the current constitutional settlement. Mathew Lawrence and Glenn Gottfried argues that in order to do something about it, new deliberative and experimental institutional forms of democratic life must be combined with the introduction of first time compulsory voting. Similar […]
If children are to grow up to become active citizens, we need to educate them about democracy from a young age
The idea of politicising children can be controversial, but author Ellie Levenson – who’s written a picture book about voting – argues that it’s never too early to show our kids how they can make an impact. Similar PostsYou are never too young to learn about democracy
The UK has much to learn from the Irish constitutional convention
At its party conference back in September, Labour called for a UK constitutional convention. What can be learned from the experiences of Ireland and its own convention? Clodagh Harris writes that whatever remit is chosen for the UK convention, it is necessary that its work is inclusive, well resourced, allocated sufficient time, open, and has a clearly defined timeline for governmental response if it is to […]
20 things we learned about democracy in November 2014
Traditionally, November isn’t a particularly pleasant month, with autumn giving way to winter, and Christmas just too far away to provide any real solace. But did we learn anything about democracy that might cheer us up? Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin does his best to do just that, bringing us factoids about white vans, immigration, Prime […]
Social media may have the potential to truly enhance our democracy, but there is still distance to go
What role can social media play in our democracy, and will its potential to affect genuine change be effectively harnessed? In a recent event in the Palace of Westminster, Carl Miller and Alessia Tranchese of Demos scoped where social media is and can have an effect, concluding that we still have a long way to go […]
‘Civic Conversations’ facilitated by social media can help to reshape the relationship between citizens and local government
Amidst heated contemporary policy debates about the shifting roles and responsibilities of local government and citizen-local state relations, it is timely to ask if social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter afford opportunities for new forms of interaction. Nick Ellison and Jo Orchard-Webb explore the idea of ‘civic conversations’ as a means of understanding […]
20 things we learned about democracy in October 2014
What happened in October 2014 that democrats will find interesting? Lots, it turns out, including revelations about the position of names on ballot papers, drones, and of course UKIP. Sean Kippin rounds up 20 interesting pieces of information that made themselves known this month. Similar Posts20 things we learned about democracy in January 2015How democratic […]
Britain is facing a crisis of democracy but the main parties cannot respond
Who is at fault for Britain’s democratic crisis? While political parties seek to be the solution to this malaise, they are in actual fact the major driver of the problem, argues Adam Lent. Unfortunately, politicians are disincentived to adopt the kind of relationship with voters that would address their dissatisfaction, meaning that the problem is a […]
If Local Authorities are to succeed in increasing voter registration amongst young people, they must make use of direct recruitment
We are seeing increasing attention given to the issue of young people’s electoral participation. Electoral registration, the first step in the voting process, is one area in which activities to encourage a more electorally active youth might be targeted. Using data and feedback from a Cabinet Office evaluation of local authority activities aimed at maximising […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.