The Hansard Society’s Audit of Political Engagement 2014 has a particular focus on how the public think political accountability, transparency and accessibility can be improved. Building on previous work, it put seven reform proposals to respondents: • requiring all MPs to hold an open meeting at least twice a year • introducing a right for constituents to ‘recall’ their MP if they have behaved badly • require Parliament to make the attendance and voting records of MPs easily accessible online • requiring all MPs to send a written, formal, annual report to their constituents • involving the public in monitoring the work of MPs (e.g. some constituents on a citizens’ jury) • requiring national newspapers to devote at least a page each day to parliamentary debates • requiring all MPs to be on either Facebook or Twitter. Respondents were asked which two or three (if any) of the propositions would be most effective in holding politicians to account – and which they personally were likely to pay attention to. The most popular proposal was the open meeting requirement (44%) closely followed by recall (42%). In third place, on 33%, is requiring parliament to make the attendance and voting records of […]
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