News
The Guardian has published a ‘helpful’ guide for new MPs that may also be of interest to new (and old) staff.
After the hurly burly of the General Election, the brand new Parliament gets down to formal business on 27 May with the State Opening of Parliament when the Queen’s Speech will set out the new government’s legislative programme. New MPs, returning MPs, and Peers will begin the work of checking and challenging the government’s agenda for the new Parliament, and in due course will propose new legislation of their own.
Focusing on how laws are introduced, checked and passed, “Understanding Parliament: law making in action” will provide you with a comprehensive view of how the legislative system works, as well as equipping you with the information you need to engage effectively with the new 2015 Parliament and influence the issues that matter to you.
Sign up for this free event to get:
We are pleased to announce that this event will be chaired by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, presenter of Channel Four News. There will be lots of opportunities to ask our panel of experts questions about Parliament.
Follow @UKParlOutreach on Twitter and submit questions for the panel in advance using the hashtag #GetParliament. We will do our best to answer as many as possible.
When and where?
This free public event is taking place in London on Tuesday 9 June from 2-4pm at:
How to book
Register online for this event using the link below:
Looking for a more general introduction to Parliament and its work?
Come to one of our “How Parliament Works” drop-in sessions for a basic introduction to Parliament, covering:
When and where?
These regular 90 minute sessions are delivered by Parliament’s Outreach team and take place in the Houses of Parliament – details available via the online registration form links below.
How to book
Register online for one of our forthcoming drop-in sessions:
UK Parliament has produced some free Parliamentary Apps for Android, iPhone and iPad.
My Constituency shows key statistics for each constituency, including election results, unemployment, youth unemployment and population.
ParliQuiz is produced by Parliament’s Education Service, and is great for older students and teachers learning and teaching about politics, Parliament and democracy. It aims to demystify Parliament, and will be useful for anyone with an interest in testing and improving their political literacy.
The Commons Order Papers: the House of Commons Order Paper is published each sitting day and lists the business of the House and sittings in Westminster Hall. It also lists questions for oral or written answer that day, questions for written answer which have not previously appeared in print, and certain other items such as notices of written statements, committee notices, remaining orders and lists of future business.
Includes:
– Summary agenda
– Business today
– Future business
Lords Business Papers: The House of Lords Business Papers are published each sitting day and lists the business of the House of Lords in chamber and committee, also including
-Order Paper
-Future Business
-Select Committee reports
-Other Motions for Debate
-Motions relating to Delegated Legislation
-Questions for Short Debate
-Questions for Written Answer
-Questions for Written Answer unanswered after 10 working days
-Bills in Progress
-Affirmative Instruments
-Negative instruments
-Public Bodies Order in Progress
-Papers Laid
House Papers: The HousePapers application contains papers relating to Parliamentary business in the House of Commons and House of Lords on a month by month basis.
A wide variety of business papers and documents are added daily (during sitting periods), providing information on the business of the House and background information on debates. Papers are arranged by sitting date and are grouped into folders to bring together papers relevant to particular items of business.
You can see all of the Apple Apps here: iTunes Store
You can see all of the Android Apps here: Google Play Store
As the tightest election battle for years dominates the news, younger members of society throughout the country are casting their votes by getting involved in the excitement and drama of Mock Elections.
The Hansard Society’s Mock Elections in Schools project collates the results from hundreds of schools across the country in order to produce a national result. Schools are voting this week and next and the deadline for submission of results is 10pm on Thursday 7 May. The final nationwide result will then be calculated and announced early the following week.
To date, they estimate that over 250,000 young people are taking an active role in the 2015 Mock Elections with more joining each day as the election draws nearer. Schools are highlighting key moments in their Mock Election campaign by sharing photos, videos, and documents via the blog at mockelectionsuk.tumblr.com on Twitter or other social media using the hashtag #mockelections2015.
www.mockelections.co.uk / mockelectionsuk.tumblr.com
We believe in innovators, agitators and doers, not just cogs in the system. Our alumni have gone to make the Observer’s list of 50 New Radicals, build high-impact charities, and join fast-growing creative startups.
Whether you’re a grad who’s fresh out of uni or a few years into your career, if you’re idealistic but critical and want to take a rigorous approach to real issues – this is a unique opportunity to learn fast in the real world.
The House of Commons has selected artist Adam Dant as the nation’s official Election Artist, commissioned by the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art to document the processes and outcomes of the 2015 General Election.
He will travel around the United Kingdom observing electioneering in the run up to polling day and some of his initial sketches will be shared on parliamentary social media channels during the election period. His final, completed work will join the Parliamentary Art Collection later in 2015.
Adam Dant is known for his monumental narrative ink drawings which approach British culture, politics and ideology with a rich vein of satire in the tradition of Rowlandson and Hogarth.
Democracy Club has set up a website where they are collecting CVs from as many candidates as possible, and it may be something you want to check out.
They point out that sending a CV is usually the very first step of a job application, and believe that it should also be the first step when people apply to become an MP.
Full details over at Democracy Club CV – and you can upload your member’s CV there if they are up for it.
The deadline for registering to vote in the general election taking place in May is approaching. If you wish to vote, you must be registered by Monday 20 April 2015, meaning there are now just four weeks left to register.
You can register online on the UK Government website or complete a registration form and return to your local Electoral Registration Office by post.
The deadlines for applying for a postal vote (Tuesday 21 April) and applying for a proxy vote (Tuesday 28 April) are also approaching.
And, if you wish to stand as a candidate in the general election, your nomination papers must be delivered by Thursday 9 April 2015.
A very small proportion of websites use sophisticated anonymity systems, which allow their operators to conceal their identity if they wish to. This part of the web is commonly referred to as the darknet. The darknet helps citizens to protect their security and privacy and to circumvent censorship. It also facilitates organised crime, such as the billion dollar drug market known as Silk Road. This POSTnote discusses the challenge of preventing such crimes without compromising the other uses of anonymity technologies.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has recently published a POSTnote on the subject, which you can download as a PDF.
POSTnote:The darknet and online anonymity