UK Democracy Bulletin, 3rd May — Election Edition

16 min readMay 3, 2023

Wandsworth Citizen Assembly on Air Quality, April 2023 (Photo credit: Shared Future CIC)

Monthly news, jobs, grants and gossip from across the democracy sector, brought to you by James Moulding, Louise Dunmore and Max Roche of the UK Democracy Network. Read by 400+ democracy organisations. We read everyone’s newsletters & research so you don’t have to. If you want us to cover yours, let us know: hello@democracynetwork.org.uk

Highlights

Voter ID multiple monitoring efforts prepared for election day
Sort the System mass lobby set for 24th May
Public Order Bill coalition wraps up
UK Constitution major review underway
Democracy Network Campaign Development Workshop, May 22nd
Democracy Coworking and free content creation sessions, May 17th

Thanks to our contributors

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our Democracy Check-In. We were joined by Myf Nixon — mySociety, Rebecca McKee — Institute for Government, Jess Sargeant — Institute for Government, Rebecca Deegan — I Have A Voice, Joe Mitchell — Public Interest News Foundation, Josiah Mortimer — Byline Times, Jessie Joe Jacobs- UK Democracy Network, Rosa Slater — The Politics Project, Laurie Moulton-Ulrich- Zero Hour, Susan Rosaway — Vocal Eyes CIC, Tom Brake — Unlock Democracy, Titus Alexander — Democracy Matters and Perry Walker — Talk Shop.

Opportunities to Collaborate

Byline Times coordinating journalists on election day over voter ID concerns

With polling day coming up quick, Byline Times are organising journalists to report from polling stations across England on polling day to collate people’s experiences of voter ID. They want to hear from as many people as possible — if your org is working with voters or election workers/volunteers, get in touch!

Researchers for Fair Elections working to capture the stories of voter ID

Researchers for Fair Elections are a group of researchers who mission is to understand the qualitative impact of using voter ID in the UK, unaffiliated to any campaign or group. They are keen to hear the stories and experience of people using voter ID for the first time — share this survey through your networks and channels.

The International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (IOPD) invites submissions for their best practice award

The annual IOPD Best Practice in Citizen Participation Award recognises successful experiences and public policies on citizen participation, community engagement, democratic engagement, public deliberation and open government. The deadline for submissions to the IOPD is May 31st — see more information.

mySociety running a survey on their Freedom of Information tools

If you’ve used their WhatDoTheyKnow FoI service to discover something, or if you have memories of its earlier days, or if you just want to add your thoughts about its place in society, please fill in their survey.

Upcoming Legislation

Government introduces anti-slow walking Statutory Instrument

In a bid to combat the threat of ‘walking slowly’ as a protest tactic by climate groups such as Just Stop Oil, the Government is bringing forward a Statutory Instrument to include the tactic as an example of ‘serious disruption’. This is possible under the new powers granted by last year’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to the Secretary of State, allowing them to redefine serious disruption by way of regulation.

Public Order Bill coalition wrapping up

With the Public Order Bill (POB) due to receive Royal Assent today, the Public Order Bill coalition are wrapping up their regular meetings and updates on the passage of the Bill. Final updates and highlights from the coalition include:

Lords fail to pass two amendments to the POB suspicionless stop and search powers

The amendments would have introduced minimal safeguards for the stop and search procedures, requiring officers to provide their name, badge number and relevant details when conducting a search, as well as establishing a charter on the use of the powers setting out how they will be used, as well as an annual report on the use of the powers. The Lords refrained from making further amendments to the Bill.

Some organisations from POB coalition will be convening a Civil Society Voice manifesto ahead of next year’s General Election

Please contact Amna Ahmad at the Democracy Network for more details on how to join the manifesto convening group. Liberty are creating a Know Your Rights resource for when the Bill passes.

The Public Order Bill successfully secured the removal of Serious Disruption Prevention Orders without conviction from the Bill by way of government concession.

The threshold for SDPOs on conviction was also raised to two criminal offences/injunction breaches and the coalition removed the possibility of 24/7 electronic surveillance conditions being attached to them. Civil society groups also won important concessions on protecting journalists and legal observers.

The Public Order Bill coalition also successfully threw out the Government’s attempts to introduce late-stage amendments

These conditions would have allowed police to impose conditions to pre-emptively restrict protests and further narrow the ‘reasonable excuse’ defence.

Celebrating engagement and interventions speaking out against the Bill

In addition to cross-party parliamentarians across the Houses, five UN Special Rapporteurs, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the Director of Public Prosecutions, former senior police advisors, health workers, environmental organisations, 20 faith leaders, and companies, all spoke out against the Bill — with more than 300,000 people signing a petition against the Bill too.

Campaigners call for greater attention to women and girls in the Online Safety Bill

A joint campaign from Glitch and EE Hope United is calling for amendments to the Online Safety Bill to consider the specific risk of online abuse facing women and girls. In its current 262 pages, the bill fails to mention women and girls at all despite over half of the public (53%) thinking the internet is not a safe space for women. The campaign is calling on peers to support amendments to the bill, including a mandated Violence Against Women and Girls Code of Practice.

Government waters down Retained EU Law Bill to just 800 pieces of legislation

The government has whittled down the proposed 4,000 pieces of legislation that might be scrapped by the end of the year as part of the Retained EU Law Bill to just 800. Opposition to the bill has been growing, with Tory peers recently announcing they would join a cross-party revolt in the House of Lords to oppose the legislation. With the prospect of lengthy delays to the passage of the bill, the recent concessions mean it is now expected to return to the House of Lords on the 15th of May.

Government forced to make concessions on the Strikes Bill

The government recently suffered a string of defeats in the Lords on the Strikes Bill, including that a consultation will have to be carried out and reviewed before the Secretary of State specifies minimum service levels.The bill is currently having its third reading in the Lords.

Elections

Register now for the Post-Election Debrief in London, May 24th

Join the Democracy Network for a series of lightning talks later this month to help unpack the elections. The hybrid event will feature brief talks from a range of those working on the frontlines of election delivery and campaigning — register now.

New tactical voting tool StoptheTories.vote launches

The new tactical voting tool provides guidance for members of the public to help them tactically vote against the Conservative Party in their area. The tool also includes a vote reminder and a breakdown of this year’s contested seats by council.

BBC launch new election widget

Resulting from a partnership between the BBC and Democracy Club, the new tool utilises Democracy Club data and API access to provide an accessible interface for voters to find out key information on elections in their area — check it out now.

Good Law Project preparing legal challenge over voter ID

Acceptable forms of voter ID have come to encompass the varieties of older persons photo ID, but specifically exclude the various forms of young person’s photo ID. Executive Director of the Good Law Project (GLP), Jo Maugham KC, remarked that voter ID is ‘a needless act of sabotage against the universality of the franchise … an attempt to deny those likely to vote against the Government the ability to do so’. GLP’s team, led by a specialist King’s Counsel, will monitor the effects of voter on Thursday’s elections and bring a case against the Government to challenge these rules before the General Election.

Green Party offers to sign up to an advertising code of conduct

Ahead of the General Election, the Green Party of England and Wales has offered to sign up to an advertising code of conduct in an effort to spur the major parties into pledging factual accuracy in electoral advertising, report Reform Political Advertising.

Norwich Conservatives voter ID fiasco forces local party to rescind leaflet

Earlier last month, Norwich Conservative Federation distributed a leaflet designed by CCHQ telling voters that they don’t need ID to vote. After realising the apparent error, the local party suspended distribution of the leaflet design and promised to contact those who received the leaflet to correct the error. Local Tory leader Simon Jones described the affair as a ‘dreadful mistake’.

Spotify run voter ID awareness campaign

Earlier this week music app Spotify ran a civic engagement campaign across their various platforms to raise awareness of voter ID requirements in this year’s local elections.

Democracy Network host voter ID resources

Did you miss Democracy Network’s recent series of informative panel discussions focusing on voter ID? Fear not — you can view them now on DN’s voter ID resources page, alongside a range of other voter ID resources produced by democracy organisations.

Local Government Information Unit publish report on public attitudes towards local elections

The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) has published a report in collaboration with Ipsos, producing polling data on public attitudes to local elections, the work of councillors and the role of local government. The report finds that 61% of the public want more information or a greater say in how decisions are taken at a local level. Read the report.

New report plots Labour’s path to power, whilst Onward discuss the future of Conservatism

Labour Together have published a new report assessing the possible paths to victory at the general election next year. The report outlines 6 core voter types Labour is targeting and their policy agenda for winning them over. Meanwhile, Onward are hosting the second of their debates on the ‘Future of Conservatism’, discussing how the Conservative Party can meet the long-term challenges of their supporter base.

Funding Democracy

Call for Consultancy — UK Democracy Fund seeking digital campaign expertise

The UK Democracy Fund are looking for a digital campaign consultant to assist in defining the bounds and activities of an effective digital voter participation campaign. View the advert for more information — deadline 22 May.

Leeds Beckett Student Union looking for expert collaboration

Leeds Beckett Student Union (LBSU) are looking to take a fresh approach to how they represent and engage with their student body, and are soliciting support to develop a new democratic student engagement model. Find out more here.

Vocal Eyes Democracy CIC win Welsh Government democratic engagement grant

The Welsh Government has awarded Vocal Eyes CIC a democratic engagement grant to work with schools and families to increase engagement in community improvement and increase interest in local government and voter registration in the number one for lowest voter turnout and highest deprivation in Swansea.

Democracy Sector

Democracy Network Campaign Development Workshop, May 22nd

What does effective campaigning and advocacy look like for us as a sector? There’s an opportunity for us as a sector to collaborate effectively, and with high impact, in the next year — the Democracy Network are kick starting this process with a Campaign Co-development Workshop. If you can make it, please join us on May 22nd.

mySociety maps the journey to Democracy 2043

As part of this year’s Festival of Debate in Sheffield, on May 24th mySociety hosts a panel to discuss the prospects and challenges for democracy over the next 20 years — register for the event now.

I Have A Voice to host event looking at citizenship in a time of political chaos

Also on May 24th, I Have A Voice are hosting an event and workshop as part of the Festival of Debate in Sheffield looking into how we might reverse declining trust and voter turnout trends — Sign up here.

Festival of Debate now on

F estival of Debate is the largest annual politics festival in the UK, taking place every spring across South Yorkshire. Founded by Opus Independents in 2015, this year’s festival runs until the end of May and features dozens of events, including It’s Our Community Conference.

Democracy Drinks Sheffield

Are you based in or near Sheffield, or down for the Festival of Debate? Join the UK Democracy Network and Opus Independents for Democracy Drinks at The Museum Pub on the 18th May — register here.

Democracy Coworking and special Content Creation Session, May 17th

Hosted by Common Sense Network at their studio opposite Beckenham Train Station in South London, this month’s London Democracy Coworking will be held on the 17th May — Common Sense Network have kindly offered the use of their high quality content creation studio for the day, so book now and secure yourself a 15, 30, 45 or 60 minute FREE content creation slot.

Democracy Coworking in Edinburgh next month

Next month the Democracy Network will be hosting Democracy Coworking in Edinburgh — stay tuned for more info, or subscribe to the Network’s newsletter for the latest updates.

Anti-monarchy protest set to disrupt King’s coronation as public support for the monarchy falls

Over 1000 anti-monarchy protesters will be heading to London this weekend to protest the coronation of King Charles. Campaign group Republic are organising the protest which they say will be ‘colourful and loud’ to make their presence heard despite the negligible coverage they expect to receive from the mainstream media. The protest comes as public support for the monarchy hits its lowest point yet.

Public Interest News Foundation hiring

Public Interest News Foundation are hiring multiple desk researchers and campaign coordinators for two consultancy projects. They’re also readying their 2023 Index of Independent Publishing in the UK for launch on May 24th, more news on that soon.

Involve hiring Interim Director of Innovation and Practice

Involve are on the lookout for a new Interim Director of Innovation and Practice. The successful candidate will take charge of their tendering process as well as leading on the delivery of projects for Involve. This is a six month appointment with full time, part time and flexible working options.

Olivia Blake MP to retable Climate & Ecology Bill

Oliver Blake MP (Lab) will be retabling the Zero Hour campaign’s Climate and Ecology Bill in the House of Commons on May 10th. The Bill includes provisions for the establishment of an advisory citizens’ assembly on the twin climate and ecological emergencies.

Democratic Reform & Innovation

Mark the date — Sort the System: The Lobby for Equal Votes, 24th May

On the 24th May, Make Votes Matter, Electoral Reform Society, Politics for the Many, Open Britain, Compass, Unlock Democracy and Best for Britain are coming together under the banner Sort the System, holding a mass rally and mass lobby in Parliament Square for equal votes — find out more.

Institute for Government and Bennett Institute conducting Review of the UK Constitution

The Bennett Institute for Public Policy and the Institute for Government (IfG) are teaming up to conduct a major research programme into UK constitutional arrangements. Over the course of the review they will publish original research and guest papers, and will hold public events and private roundtable discussions across the UK. The programme includes an upcoming IfG paper on the constitutional implications of electoral reform, a paper by Meg Russell on Lords reform, and a final paper on embedding public engagement into constitutional change — contact Rebecca at the Institute for Government for more information.

USDAW is latest Labour affiliate to back campaign for proportional representation

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) has become the latest Labour affiliated union to back the campaign for proportional representation, meaning two-thirds of Labour-supporting unions have thrown their weight behind the campaign. Caroline Osborne of Labour for a New Democracy states this now means there is an ‘undeniable consensus for a new electoral system’.

Wandsworth runs Citizens’ Assembly on Air Quality

A key manifesto pledge for the administration of the London Borough of Wandsworth, the Citizens’ Assembly forms a major part of their plans to review their Air Quality Action Plan and to set new targets to clean up the borough’s air. Fifty local residents have been brought together, selected by Sortition Foundation’s stratified selection processes, and facilitated by Shared Future, have been meeting on the weekends to deliberate a new plan. The process also included a five week pause between sessions to open up the discussions to the whole borough, using Pol.is.

Constitution Unit ask — how can we fix our democracy?

Drawing on recent Constitution Unit research into public attitudes to democracy, Alan Renwick’s inaugural lecture will be discussing how we can work to heal our democracy. The hybrid lecture on the 16th May will be followed by a drinks reception and a chance to chat with other democracy enthusiasts — register now.

Talk Shop setting up Win Win Workouts

Last month Talk Shop produced new discussion packs for Extinction Rebellion’s The Big One, for XR activists to collect, use and distribute locally. Perry and the team at Talk Shop are looking into setting up new in-person Win Win Workouts.

Devolved Democracy / Local Democracy

Block on Scottish gender reforms to be challenged in court in watershed moment on devolution

Scottish ministers are launching a court challenge against Westminster’s veto of the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill. Passed by MSPs last December, the Bill was then vetoed by the UK Government utilising Section 35 of the 1998 Scotland Act. The court case is being described as a ‘watershed moment’ for Scottish devolution as constitutional experts fear Section 35 could be weaponised in the future to encourage further changes to Scottish legislation at the whims of Westminster.

Power to Change say government must devolve financial decision making to deliver impact on Levelling Up

A new report from Power to Change on the government’s Levelling Up strategy has found that just 11% of the public think the policy has had a positive impact, whilst 56% say it has had no impact at all, with a further 14% claiming a negative impact. The report makes a series of recommendations to improve upon the policy and deliver impact, including delegating financial decisions to those outside Whitehall.

Integrity & Transparency

Standards Committee demands tighter rules on APPG lobbying

The Committee on Standards is calling for tighter rules around All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) which are often funded by or closely linked to external organisations. A new report published by the committee recognised that APPGs can present ‘a significant risk of improper access and influence by commercial entities or by hostile foreign actors’, and is calling for annual income and expenditure statements to be produced by APPGs.

Growing concerns over House of Commons scrutiny function, or lack thereof

‘The Commons doesn’t really do the detailed scrutiny of legislation now,’ remarked Labour leader in the Lords, Baroness Angela Smith of Basildon to PoliticsHome. There is a purported growing unease amongst peers over the increasing workload of the House of Lords, with the Commons increasingly leaving the upper chamber to perform the bulk of scrutiny over government legislation, apparently as a result of a lack of trust of the Government in their own backbenches.

Mile End Institutes reflects on Raab’s resignation as indicative of Minister-Civil Servant relations

Patrick Diamond and Dave Richards of the Mile End Institute take a look at what the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab can tell us about current relations between ministers and civil servants, in particular the demise of the Public Service Bargain.

openDemocracy FOI request refused on public interest grounds

The government has refused to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by openDemocracy to ascertain the extent of their surveillance of human rights lawyers. Despite a public admittance from Robert Jenrick in February that the government is monitoring a ‘small number of legal practitioners’, the Home Office recently decided that revealing the full extent of their surveillance was not in the public interest.

Spotlight on Corruption report highlights government failure to implement ethics standards changes

Integrity Deferred?, a new report from Spotlight on Corruption, explores how the government has so far failed to implement crucial recommendations on upgrading ethics in government made by two major independent reports over 18 months ago. Sir Nigel Boardman’s report into the Greensill scandal and the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s Standards Matter 2 report, collectively outlined 57 recommendations for improving government ethics. The report states just 4 of the 57 recommendations (7%) have so far been implemented and 40 have had no action whatsoever.

Just Stop Oil protesters sentenced to nearly three years in prison

After scaling the QE2 Bridge in October last year, disrupting traffic for two days, Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker will now spend three years and two and a half years in prison respectively, with Just Stop Oil remarking ‘these are the longest sentences for peaceful climate protest in British history’. Judge Collery KC handed down the sentence, commenting that the harsh sentence was due to deter copycat actions. There are currently two Just Stop Oil and five Insulate Britain activists serving time in prison for actions taken with the campaigns.

Democracy & Media

Richard Sharp quits as BBC chairman

The chair of the BBC, Richard Sharp, has resigned after a report found they failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest during their appointment. Pressure has been mounting on Sharp to resign after it emerged that they helped facilitate a loan for Prime Minister Johnson who subsequently appointed them as chairman.

Public Interest News Foundation to launch report on UK independent news provision

On Wednesday 24th of May, PINF will be launching their new report on the status of UK independent news provision. Now in its third year, the 2022–23 report received input from 100 independent news providers and provides a range of insights on revenue, staffing and impact across the sector. Join via Zoom to explore the key findings.

Independent Media Association voices concern over Draft Media Bill

The Independent Media Association (IMA) has written to the government expressing concerns over the Draft Media Bill, specifically in relation to plans to repeal Section 40 of the 2013 Crimes and Courts Act. The IMA, a representative organisation for the independent media sector, asked why they weren’t consulted on the draft bill which could strip away key protections for independent news providers from the use of SLAPPs — a tactic of stifling investigative journalism with expensive legal actions.

Shocking slide in global media freedom revealed by new report

The World Press Freedom Index, published by advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, has found that media health is declining fast among an increasing number of countries due to the threats of propaganda, misinformation and artificial intelligence, including the UK. Would you like to know more?

World Press Freedom Day 2023

Today marks 30 years since the UN General Assembly proclaimed an international day for press freedom, held on 3 May every year — celebrating the importance of press freedom and freedom of expression. Dawn Alford, Executive Director of the Society of Editors said: ‘Now, more than ever, governments worldwide must look to uphold and strengthen their commitment to this vital human right’. Would you like to know more?

Institute for Strategic Dialogue explore online support for proscribed groups in Northern Ireland

In recent months, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue ran preliminary scoping research across Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, finding a hive of activity amongst IRA, UVF, INLA, UDA, RHC and LVF proscribed groups — Read the report.

Featured Upcoming Events

The UK Democracy Network maintains a full database of events from across the democracy sector.

View the database here — Have we missed something? Add it here!

Featured Job Listings across the Democracy Sector

View the full database of upcoming job listings here — have we missed any? Add them via this form.

If you can’t make our monthly check-in, you can always drop in to the check-in document of the current month and add to it by going to democracymeetup.org.uk.

See you next time, add to your calendar

James, Max, Louise and the UK Democracy Network team