UK Democracy Bulletin, December 2024 — Christmas Edition

17 min readDec 16, 2024

The future of democracy — Photo credit: Michelle Mann

Monday 16th December 2024 — Issue #67

Monthly news, jobs, grants and gossip from across the democracy sector, brought to you by James Moulding 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

How you can get involved right now! Do these things 👇

Highlights

Democracy Network Summit 2025 coming Feb 28th
Notwestminster is back 15th February in Huddersfield
Senedd creates Innovating Democracy Advisory Group
Welsh Government publishes new report on democratic health
The Politics Project submit sector-wide submission to DfE’s Curriculum Review
Proportional Representation Bill MPs vote in favour
Women’s Equality Party votes to disband itself
UK Government rules out legislating against use of SLAPPs

#DemocracyJobs

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.

Rolling deadlines

Rolling deadline: Researcher and Analyst for Disinformation Analysis at Debunk (€1200 — €1800)
Rolling deadline: Head of Charity at Changing Ideas (£75k pro rata)
Rolling deadline: Advisory Board at The Traveller Movement (voluntary)
Multiple roles: Association of Democratic Services Officers
Multiple roles: People’s Economy
Rolling deadline: Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Nationbuilder (£63K-71k)

Apply ASAP

Apply by 21st December: Community Organiser at Migrant Democracy Project (£32k)

Upcoming roles

Apply by 1st Jan: Economic Research Internship at Centre for Cities (£25.6k)
Apply by 2nd Jan: Policy and Research Officer at Women’s Equality Network Wales (£26–30k)
Apply by 3rd Jan: Community Organiser at Citizens UK (37k)
Apply by 4th January: Research and Policy Officer at Transform Justice (£28 — £31k)
Apply bt 5th January: Press Officer and Research Analyst at Equality and Human Rights Commission (£34k)
Apply by 5th January: Research Associate / Research Manager at More in Common (£37.5 — £45k)
Apply by 8th of January: Head of Electoral Commission, Scotland (£72k)
Apply by 9th January: Researcher at The Institute for Government (£30–39k)
Apply by 13th January: Content Officer at Hope not Hate (£33–35k)
Apply by 15th January: Policy Manager at Full Fact (£41–44k)
Apply by 24th January: Chair & Trustee roles at Involve

Offers & Needs

Local Trust, Demos and CRESR invite submissions on community regeneration

Local Trust is running a new essay competition in tandem with Demos and the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, looking at innovative ideas on community regeneration. Entrants must submit a 2,500 word essay on the following: ‘What is your policy idea for turning the most socially and economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England into thriving communities, what is the evidence behind it, and how might it best be successfully implemented with maximum impact?’ The winner will receive £5,000 and two runners up will receive £1,000. Deadline 10th January 2025. Apply now.

Movement Ecology Collective running workshop on democracy movement ecology

Wolfgang Wopperer and the Movement Ecology Collective are running a special focused workshop for organisations working on and around democracy in the UK to explore movement building. Movement ecology is an emerging practice, understanding social movements as ecosystems in and of themselves. The session is pay what you feel, register your interest in the three day workshop in February 2025 now.

Advanced Apprenticeship seeking applicants

Democracy Network and Happy Ltd are offering a new Level 5 Advanced Apprenticeship for change agents, leaders and managers, delivered by Titus Alexander — find out more information and book a taster session.

Are you working with 16–19 year olds? Associate for Citizenship Teaching want to hear from you

ACT are conducting research on the efficacy of GCSE Citizenship Studies on young people’s levels of democratic engagement and participation — find out more here.

Looking to upgrade your deliberation or facilitation skills? Involve has the training for you

Involve are running two 3.5 hour long training ‘masterclass’ sessions, Facilitation 101 and Deliberative Democracy 101, at the end of this month. The sessions are donation-based Pay-What-You-Feel, find out more information here.

Funding Democracy

No joy for the UK on the Google Impact Challenge, but they’ll keep trying anyway

Earlier this year Google published their €15M Strengthening Democracy in Europe Impact Challenge call for applications to a new large scale fund. Over several months a range of organisations across the democracy sector applied for the funding, though we’ve yet to hear from any UK-based organisations who were successful.

Democracy Club, The Politics Project and mySociety teamed up for an almighty project to overhaul UK democratic data architecture and the citizen interface with government and elected bodies. The prospective project, WhoDoesWhat, would work to fix a range of key issues with information and communication, and completely transform the civic education experience for teachers and educators.

But alas, whilst Google said no — they are asking: if you happen to have a lot of money and think any or all of this sounds like a good idea, please get in touch with Democracy Club, mySociety and The Politics Project. Also this.

Two short notice £120k Ofcom tenders available

Ofcom have two 2-year £120k tenders open now, one for kids and one for adults, in conjunction with local news — find out more.

Civic Tech Field Guide undertaking fundraising drive

The Civic Tech Field Guide is the world’s largest collection of projects using tech for the common good, developed and maintained by Matt Stempeck. CTFG is an invaluable resource for thousands of organisations across the globe and features curated directories of 10s of thousands of civic and political technology projects and organisations. The Civic Tech Field Guide receives support from a range of organisations including People Powered, mySociety, NED and many others, including many volunteers — but they need all the help they can get. Can you help support this key resource?

Do you know a young person with a strong idea for changing democracy?

Restless Development are looking for 10–25 year old applicants for their Young Gamechangers Fund. Find out more and apply here — and share the opportunity with your networks.

Democracy Sector

Join us for the Democracy Network Summit 2025

The Democracy Network is holding our in-person summit on 25th February 2025, bringing together colleagues from across the sector to chart the course for a stronger democracy in the UK. There will be plenty of opportunities to connect with leading thinkers, policy makers and activists, so register your interest — we look forward to seeing you there in February!

Democracy Coworking Scotland, Cymru and London upcoming

From Glasgow to Blackwood to London, we’ve got you covered for Democracy Coworking in January. See the Democracy Network calendar of events and sign up now!

Democracy Network host Christmas Party

Hosted by Newspeak House and the Democracy Network, more than 40 joined for the evening, with plenty of good cheer and Jessica Metheringham showcasing their democracy tabletop games! Thanks to Mohammed Afridi of the Civic Power Fund, Patti Garcia of Demos and Linnea Erasmie-Jones of Involve for stepping in at short notice due to team illness!

The Community Councillor Collective launches!

Fiona Barrows has launched their exciting new initiative The Community Councillor Collective, focused on developing a network of councillors committed to putting citizens at the heart of local decision making, building power in their communities and utilising participatory methods and approaches. Get in touch if this is your jam!

Notwestminster returns for 10th anniversary event — get your tickets

Notwestminster is back this year on the 15th of February at the University of Huddersfield, celebrating their 10th anniversary of their amazing annual conference, bringing together the superstars of the local democracy movement in the UK. Notwestminster is a great opportunity to meet others working on local democracy issues, in councils, communities, wherever you are. Get you tickets ASAP!

Involve are looking for a new Chair and Trustees

Apply now for the voluntary positions via Starfish, for the Chair and Trustee positions at Involve.

Can Political Science save democracy, asks Titus Alexander

Titus Alexander, of Democracy Matters, and Co-Chair of the Democracy Network’s Steering Group, makes the argument for political science to work with citizens, promote skills for democracy and democratic innovation, and to turn universities into ‘intelligence agencies for democracy’ — read the piece by Titus.

Movement Ecology Collective running pay-what-you-feel expert workshop on democracy movement ecology

Electoral Commission is looking for a new Head of the Commission in Scotland

An exciting role is going at the Electoral Commission to lead the organisation’s work in Scotland. The new Head will develop a programme of work to strengthen trust and transparency in the electoral process in Scotland — Apply by the 8th of January.

Not1More seeking a consultant for new parliamentary inquiry

Not1More are primarily focused on investigating the chilling effect of restrictions on the right to protest in the UK. They are preparing work for a potential parliamentary inquiry, for which they’re hiring a consultant — find out more and apply by 3rd January.

Republic is looking for a podcast host — interested?

Republic is launching a brand new podcast in the new year — From Below the Balcony — which will explore key issues around the monarchy, UK democracy and how to transition to a fairer society. They are looking for a podcast host to work alongside their director to help deliver the podcast. Get in touch if you’re interested.

Call for applications for the 2025 Deliberative Democracy Summer School

The Swiss Summer School in Democracy Studies and the Deliberative Democracy Summer School series are joining forces next year to create an event for PhD students exploring deliberative democracy in theory and practice. The 2025 Summer School will feature lectures and interactive sessions led by renowned scholars in the field of deliberative democracy and will be a great opportunity to connect with other researchers in this area. Find out more about the course and what you need to do to apply.

Shout Out UK celebrates Parliament Week

Shout Out UK distributed 4,500 leaflets and hundreds of posters in a variety of the languages, with materials posted to London foodbanks, libraries and community space — they also hosted three events in schools in London ranging from workshops to assemblies aimed at raising awareness about civic and democratic rights. For more information on the GLA’s Democratic Participation Public Awareness Campaign, contact democracy@london.gov.uk.

Scottish Co-production Network celebrates CoPro Week

The Scottish Co-production Network brought together more than 40 co-producing organisations in Scotland to focus efforts on exploring how to embed co-production as the way to deliver services across Scotland through CoProWeek in November. Find out more about co-production and the Scottish Co-production Network.

United Response interviewing for role to run their new voter registration campaign

The new Engagement and Project Coordinator role at United Response will primarily work to deliver increased participation among disabled voters in the lead-up to the May 2025 local elections. Good luck to those applying!

Devolved Democracy / Local Democracy

Senedd endorses creation of the Innovating Democracy Advisory Group

Last month the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales published their final report in 2024. The Welsh Government accepted the Commission’s recommendations in full, and they were endorsed by the Senedd. The report recommended an expert panel be created to advise the Welsh Government on expanding the use of democratic innovation and enhance civic engagement in public life. To that end Dr Anwen Elias has now been appointed to head the new Innovating Democracy Advisory Group.

Welsh Government publishes report into democratic health of community and town councils

Last month the Welsh Government published their comprehensive analysis of the democratic health of community councils and town councils. The report provides a diagnosis of the community council sector in Wales, and a range of ways forward to rejuvenate and rebuild the sector — Read the report here.

UK Government ‘Devolution by default’ to create new era of local power

The new English Devolution White Paper advocated by Angela Rayner MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is thought to include merging councils and removing district councils in a generational shake up of governance, creating new ‘strategic authorities’.

Could citizen-involvement unlock English devolution? Involve investigates

The Government’s English Devolution White Paper is set to be published imminently. To coincide with this, Involve has published a new report, Putting People at the Heart of English Devolution, looking at how involving citizens in decision making could unlock a more effective and democratic approach to devolution. The report sets out five opportunities and practical recommendations for how to do this in order to develop public engagement with this key agenda.

Welsh Government running two key consultations on orders and guidance

There are also two consultations currently running which may be of interest: Draft Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order to introduce a bilingual version of the standing order of the Senedd and Diversity and inclusion guidance for registered political parties.

Civic Education & Young People

The Politics Project submit sector-wide submission to DfE’s Curriculum Review

Authored by Sophie Daud and coordinated and submitted by the Electoral Commission and The Politics Project, the civic education sector-wide submission to the Department for Education Curriculum Review included inputs from more than 40 organisations and academics — Review the submission here.

UK Youth raise the alarm over National Youth Strategy

Whilst UK Youth welcomes the Government’s new National Youth Strategy but fears the new proposals are ‘worryingly under-resourced’, stating that ‘after 15 years of devastating cuts to local government youth work funding — cut by three-quarters since 2010 — the scale of transformation required will take major investment not just guidance’.

Association for Citizenship Teaching undertake research on impacts of citizenship teaching

In collaboration with Nottingham Trent University, the Association for Citizenship Teaching are conducting research on what impacts young people’s democratic engagement in transition to adulthood. If you are in touch with groups or individuals working with 16–19 year olds please consider sharing this research survey with them — the deadline for the survey is 20th December 2024.

Politics in Action urge importance of moving legislative agenda forward on Votes at 16

Emily Crudden, Campaigns Organiser at Politics in Action, highlights the importance of moving the legislative agenda forward soon so that 16 year olds can vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2027, which can feel like a ways off, but in legislative timeframes is very soon. Back in September four of the five political parties of Northern Ireland called on the UK secretary of state to implement Votes at 16 in the region — Contact Emily for more information.

Welsh Youth Parliament elects new members

Senedd Ieuenctid Cymru / Welsh Youth Parliament has elected a new parliament. Meet the new members.

Democratic Reform & Innovation

138 MPs vote in favour of Proportional Representation Bill

Last week, 138 MPs from across all major political parties voted in favour of Sarah Olney MP’s Elections (Proportional Representation) Ten Minute Rule Bill, calling for the use of PR at future elections. The Liberal Democrats were the biggest backers of the bill with 63 of their 72 MPs coming out in support. The vote was only narrowly successful however, with 136 voting against it, including 78 Conservative MPs and 50 Labour MPs.

50:50 Parliament and Compassion in Politics publish new report

The Blueprint for a 21st Century Parliament, published by Compassion in Politics and 50:50 Parliament, provides a framework for quick and low-cost changes to create immediate impacts to make Parliament more inclusive, supportive and effective, while the Modernisation Committee considers longer term structural changes — Read the report.

Women’s Equality Party votes to dissolve itself

In an extraordinary members session, 78% of members voted to dissolve the Women’s Equality Party, after the founders of the party publicly urged their members to ‘call time’ on WEP after 10 years of advocating for women’s equality last month.

All Party Parliamentary Group for electoral reform launches first report ‘Free but not Fair’

The APPG for Fair Elections launches with more than 100 MPs backing, more than half of them Labour MPs. The group recently published their first report — ‘Free But Not Fair — British elections and how to restore trust in politics’. The report identifies three main threats to UK democracy which are; first-past-the-post, dark money, and disinformation — as well as setting out how to solve these crises and improve accountability.

Call for papers & panels for Future of Democracy conference at Oxford University

The Oxford University European Centre for Populism Studies will be hosting ‘We, the People’ and the Future of Democracy: Interdisciplinary Approaches’ conference in July 2025. Please see here for more information on submissions and the conference.

Brits favour proportional representation over first-past-the-post, according to YouGov polling

New polling from YouGov reveals that 44% of UK voters favour PR over first-past-the-post, compared to 23% who favour FPTP. This support holds across all voter main voter groups other than the Conservatives. Reform UK: 62% vs 17%, Lib Dems: 58% vs 22%, Labour: 48% vs 24%, Conservative: 39% vs 41%.

General election was the most disproportionate on record, says Electoral Reform Society

The 2024 General Election marked a turning point in British electoral history, becoming the most disproportional election ever recorded in the UK, according to a new report from the Electoral Reform Society. A System out of Step explores how the election was characterised by low voter turnout, record levels of distrust, and an antiquated voting system ultimately warping voter preferences. According to the report, nearly 78% of votes did not directly affect the local outcome in 2024–21.2 million votes in total.

Parliament’s Modernisation Committee launches call for evidence

Parliament’s Modernisation Committee recently launched a call for submissions asking what they should focus on in order to develop their goals of driving up standards, improving working culture, and making parliamentary procedures more effective. If you want to submit your ideas, the deadline for submission is 16th of December and you can submit through their website.

Democratising the Media

Four in ten adults regularly encounter misinformation, says Ofcom report

According to new research from Ofcom, 44% of adults say they have encountered false or misleading information in the last four weeks. Almost half of people (45%) said they feel they can confidently judge whether sources of information are truthful. But only 30% feel they can confidently judge whether an image, audio or video has been generated by AI.

Labour rules out legislating against use of SLAPPs, despite cross-party pressure

A cross-party group of MPs has urged the government to take action against the use of SLAPPs due to mounting evidence of their use to shut down public interest journalism. However Justice Minister, Heidi Alexander, has ruled out the possibility of government legislation on this issue during the next parliament. Whilst recognising SLAPPs ‘represent an abuse of our legal system’, they argued they are a ‘complex area and we should not legislate in haste’.

Guardian and Observer journalists strike over sale of The Observer

The Guardian and Observer journalists began a four day strike over what they say is the rushed sale of the Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media. General secretary-elect of the National Union of Journalists, Laura Davison, spoke from the picket line saying, ‘it’s too important for a deal to be done behind closed doors and too important for wider public life. People are calling on management to meaningfully engage with staff…and saying there needs to be proper scrutiny and an opportunity to look at alternatives.”

Public Interest News Foundation announce shortlist for Tenacious Journalist Award

PINF has reached the next stage of the Tenacious Journalist Award — a new award celebrating the work and reach of tenacious journalists. A shortlist of 20 applicants has been announced and now it’s up to the judges to pick their winner (who could win £5,000 to 20,000!). Stay tuned for exciting updates soon!

Two short notice £120k Ofcom tenders available

Ofcom have two 2-year £120k tenders open now, one for kids and one for adults, in conjunction with local news — find out more.

Integrity & Transparency

UK local and general elections were ‘well-run’, says Electoral Commission report

The Electoral Commission has published their report into how the UK general elections were conducted, focusing on their management, participant experiences, and lessons for the future. While the elections were generally ‘well-run’ and voter confidence remained high, several key areas for improvement were identified to enhance participation and trust.

Poll finds cross-party support for a cap on donations to political parties

Opinium polling carried out on behalf of Unlock Democracy finds at least two thirds of Conservative, Labour, Reform, Green and the Liberal Democrat voters support plans to strengthen rules on political donations. Reform voters were most likely to support some sort of cap on donations, with 72% backing stronger rules — despite rumours that Elon Musk plans to donate $100m to the party. Unlock Democracy is campaigning to set the campaign limit at £5,000.

Politicians ‘inflammatory language’ is driving a crisis of trust, says new report

A new report sent to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper from a former counter-extremism commissioner, Dame Sara Kahn, calls for politicians to moderate their language to avoid deepening the polarisation and distrust in Britain. In the report, ‘Societal Threats and Declining Democratic Resilience’, Khan warned of a ‘chronic risk of democratic decline’ if politicians continue to use inflammatory language and in some cases actively promote conspiracy theories in order to win votes.

Transparency International outline 50 recommendations for tackling political finance

With the UK government considering tightening the rules around political finance in the UK, a new set of policy recommendations from Transparency International outlines how this issue can be tackled at a global level. Their 50 ‘actionable recommendations’ set out simple ways to develop a transparent system of political financing, ensuring dodgy actors cannot capture politics for their own ends. Earlier this month Transparency research revealed that almost £1 in every £10 of political donations comes from ‘unknown or questionable sources’ in the UK.

Civic & Political Technology

TICTeC 2025 — Call for proposals now open

mySociety’s annual global civic technology conference will be held in Belgium next June, where call for proposals are now open across their three themes of access to information and open data, democracy, people and politics and climate change — find out more here.

mySociety tonal shift to pro-democracy tech

Through their upcoming TICTeC conference (above) mySociety are moving to adopt a new framing around their work, Pro-Democracy Tech or PDT, more in line with the current moment, they say. Pro-Democracy Tech describes digital tools aimed at realising and defending democratic values, mySociety state, they unpack this at length in their recent blog post.

Peer Review, new tool from Tortoise Media

Peer Review is a new interactive tool produced by Tortoise Media that trawls thousands of public records to shine a light on the House of Lords, its members and the role they play in British democracy. The tool categorises peers into a range of groups, from hereditary to blockers, rebels and absentee peers. It also breaks down their various jobs, positions, financial holdings and property portfolios — Check out Peer Review.

Seelaw launches free tier

A new app produced by Joe Coker, Seelaw, has now added a free tier so anyone can try it out. For those that aren’t familiar, Seelaw uses AI to scrutinise and predict the impact of legislation, with the aim to make legislation easier to understand.

And now for something completely different

Introducing the US Democracy Hub

Impala Digital and the US-based Democracy Funders Network have launched a new resource, the US Democracy Hub, a vast and well maintained resource listing every non-profit organisation working on or around issues related to democracy in the US — check it out.

Did you know?

UK election spend from 2001 to 2024 totalled just 3% of this year’s 2024 total US election spend, according to some rough sums by Peter Keeling of Democracy Club.

See you next time,

James, Max and the UK Democracy Network team