Since I was first elected to Parliament the subject of how Parliament engages with the British People has been a ‘hot-topic’, with MPs, Peers and stakeholders frequently challenging the accessibility of our system of Parliamentary democracy to ensure that it can be accessed by everyone in our society.
One of the concepts that has been introduced to help ensure greater transparency and accessibility is that of a ‘digital democracy’. Digital Democracy, or internet democracy, incorporates 21st-century information and communications technology to promote parliament in a way that encompasses transparency, equality and fairness.
The current speaker of the House of Commons, Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP has been championing digital democracy in the House of Commons since he was elected to serve as speaker in 2009. Recently, the Speaker set up a Commission on digital democracy to consider a number of new concepts to help bring Parliament into the 21st century.
The Speakers Commission on digital democracy is made up of cross party MPs and stakeholders. You can learn more about them here: https://youtu.be/NzTVagdb-uw
Some of the new concepts that have been recently considered by the commission include;
- Electronic voting in the House of Commons
- Electronic voting in elections
- The use of social media
- Addressing the inter-generational digital divide
- Parliamentary communications and engagement
Following their investigation, the commission published their recommendations last year in a report which was considered by MPs and peers in February 2015. You can see a summary of their findings here: http://www.digitaldemocracy.parliament.uk/chapter/summary.
I believe that Parliament needs to continue discussing Digital Democracy into the future. There are many issues that we raised in the report that may require further detailed consideration as we move forward.
Achieving the right balance of a viable, working Parliament that is both accessible and accountable is crucial, in the case of electronic voting, for example; there are both draw backs and positive elements to electronic voting in the House of Commons. In the instance of female MPs who go on maternity leave, being able to vote in the lobbies and represent their constituents when they are not in Westminster would be a valuable freedom. However, as any MP will tell you – voting provides us with the opportunity to meet cross-party colleagues and ministers in the lobbies; providing valuable time to raise issues about important constituency matters. This is something that may be lost if the need to attend a vote is removed.
Watch the Speaker, John Bercow discuss the role of the commission on Digital Democracy below: http://www.parliament.uk/business/commons/the-speaker/speakers-commission-on-digital-democracy/terms-of-reference/