For those of us who would like local politics to be more highly valued, two slightly conflicting observations were made by prominent political bloggers last weekend.
The first was by the ever-perceptive Potlatch writing about James Purnell, and digging into the question of ‘professionalisation’ of politics:
“Purnell – like Ruth Kelly and Ed Balls – ticks both [...]
Posts under ‘Democratic renewal’
Centralisation: A turning point?
The Conservatives: £1 million prize for a public policy website
I saw this press release yesterday and it’s had a bit of take-up from the press. Sadly, none of the coverage that I’ve seen has addressed what seems to me to be a serious and interesting – though problematic – proposal.
I’ll be writing something myself over the next few days, but in the meantime, here [...]
Democratic, decentralised and difficult
I attended an interesting seminar yesterday afternoon, hosted by the 2020 Public Services Trust. The topic was the future of citizen-centred public services.
The two principal speakers both brought innovative ideas and a real vision, which is more than can be said for a lot of these public policy seminars. Ben Jupp, from the Cabinet Office, [...]
Usability, council websites and the obligation to promote democracy
It seems that The Electoral Commission have decided that it is a basic human right for us to have ballot papers that make sense to us. Usability – not just regulatory box-ticking is, it seems the key here (I posted on ballot design here a while ago)
Measuring usability may also be the key to ensuring [...]
Designing your environment
Just a short observation, in the light of Matthew Taylor’s post about the RSA’s work in Chelmsford that is being launched today.
“….a vision for the town centre must be based on a rich understanding of how people see and use the area and how they might be willing to change that view if the centre [...]
Don’t worry about the middle classes
Much of the comment about the new Pew Internet and Civic Engagement Survey has been around its finding that wealthy and well-networked people are the most likely to participate in civic activities online. The already-engaged, in other words, are the beneficiaries of much engagement work.
I don’t think we should worry too much about that. [...]
Reconfiguring journalism and political discourse
Sometimes, a book review provokes a response that is worth reading even if you can’t afford the time / cash to read the book itself. Here’s an example from Charlie Becket’s verygood Polis blog reviewing ‘The Myth of Digital Democracy’ by Matthew Hindman:
“…the US obsession with the political blogosphere distracted people from the much richer [...]
Strengthening local democracy, kinda
I’ve just read through the new Strengthening Local Democracy Green Paper, and I can’t sum it up better than Talking Heads did in their 1977 hit, Psycho Killer. Not the refrain “better run, run, run, run away”, but the verse:
You start a conversation you can’t even finish.
You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything.
When [...]
Twitter – love it / hate it???
Yes – I’m new here – I think Paul asked me as we have been having a falling out about Petitions over on my blog and he likes an argument.
You can find out more about me there obviously but probably the most relevant fact is that I am currently researching for a PHD around the [...]
A blog about representative democracy, social media and a conversational politics. How will peer-to-peer communications change local democracy? How is representation changing? 
