Are strongly held views worth listening to from a politicians perspective? My own view is that the general bubble of un-selfconcious conversation is the most valuable thing for politicians to be able to hear – not the hectoring of pressure groups, and – it has to be said – ‘active citizenry.’

Yep – definitely the subject for another post…

On blogging being hostile to representative democracy. I don’t think so. Not at all. A very useful addition, but one which will require a bit of cultural adjustment.

In the US, where I grew up it was not only common, but a part of an active citizen’s duty to write to your Federal or State representatives on issues you felt strongly about – not just something for the green ink brigade. When I moved to the UK, I was surprised that this wasn’t an everyday occurrence – though I suspect this has something to do with the degree of whipping in each system. US reps have more discretion to vote against the party line.

Sites like They Work for You and the petitions sites are gently shifting viewpoints. Conservative Home has helped to influence Tory policy on a number of issues and I very much hope that LabourList becomes as active and influential. This changes the culture and encourages individuals to speak their piece both through collective sites and through individual blogging, commenting and yes, good old fashioned writing to one’s MP about policy and not just personal advocacy issues.

Re. blogging and journalism – let me give a plug to a new site from a techie and a journalist to support both journalists wanting to blog in the new media age and citizen journalists http://www.newstechzilla.com