A think-tank report said that new technologies enabled people to speak to others at any time, anywhere, about public affairs - but not necessarily to people in the areas in which they themselves lived. This was creating a fragmentation of interest groups, and threatened the link between conversation, our notion of the public sphere, and the quality of democracy.
Source: Samuel Jones, Talk Us Into It: Putting conversation at the heart of the public realm, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Date: 2006-Sep
A report examined the case for compulsory voting; and asked whether it would encourage civic engagement, or mask underlying alienation from the political system.
Source: Chris Ballinger with Ben Rogers, Ken Ritchie and Helen Margetts, Democracy and Voting, Hansard Society (020 7955 7459)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Sep
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 was given Royal assent. The Act placed a new duty on election administrators to make sure as many people as possible were registered to vote in Parliamentary constituencies. The Bill also proposed new ways to tackle fraud, allowed better access to the election process, and reduced the age at which people could stand for election from 21 to 18.
Source: Electoral Administration Act 2006, Department for Constitutional Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | DCA press release | Electoral Commission press release | Hansard | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
A new book examined the attitudes of young people to politics and government, and assessed the prospects for re-engaging young people with the formal political process.
Source: Eldin Fahmy, Young Citizens: Young people's involvement in politics and decision making, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jul
A report examined the issue of democratic disengagement. It said that politicians and the policy community had been too general in their approaches to the problem; it highlighted where the gaps might be, and made suggestions for further exploration.
Source: Greg Power, Personal Politics: Democracy, participation and collective action, Carnegie UK Trust (01383 721445)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
A think-tank report said that more could be done to encourage civic life and increase public engagement in political life. Although poverty and inequality and community strength helped shape levels of political participation, they did not determine them. The way institutions worked, and the way those in charge behaved, made a difference to whether people chose to participate.
Source: Vivien Lowndes, Lawrence Pratchett and Gerry Stoker, Locality Matters: Making participation count in local politics, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-May
A think-tank report said that people who did not vote in elections should be fined, in order to combat declining turnout, particularly among young people and low-income groups. Electors would be offered a 'none of the above' choice, or could simply spoil their papers.
Source: Emily Keaney and Ben Rogers, A Citizen?s Duty: Voter inequality and the case for compulsory turnout, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Report | IPPR press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-May
The elections watchdog said that there were significant differences in levels of political knowledge, interest, and activism between different social groups. But creating more opportunities for direct participation, where citizens could directly influence political decisions - through (for example) petitions, demonstrations, and public inquiries - would not bridge this gap.
Source: An Audit of Political Engagement: 3, Electoral Commission (020 7271 0500) and Hansard Society
Links: Report | Electoral Commission press release
Date: 2006-Mar
A report set out a new agenda for debating the relationship between young people, the internet and democracy. It argued that the nature of citizenship was changing there was a generation moving to newer, more creative forms of participation, and that new forms of communication were key to this.
Source: Stephen Coleman with Chris Rowe, Remixing Citizenship: Democracy and young people's use of the internet, Carnegie Young People Initiative (020 7401 5460)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
The Electoral Administration Bill was given a third reading. The Bill placed a new duty on election administrators to make sure as many people as possible were registered to vote in Parliamentary constituencies. The Bill also proposed new ways to tackle fraud, allowed better access to the election process, and reduced the age at which people could stand for election from 21 to 18.
Source: Electoral Administration Bill, Department for Constitutional Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 11 January 2006, columns 309-394, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC Library research paper | Hansard
Date: 2006-Jan