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Democracy Matters wins ‘Westminster’s Oscars’
The Electoral Reform Society and leading academics picked up the Democratic Innovation Award for their Citizens’ Assembly project at last night’s (29th November) Political Studies Association Annual Awards in Westminster. The project brought together politicians, regional leaders and the public to debate the government’s English devolution plans at a local level, with the Democracy Matters’ […]
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Politicians from seven parties call for citizens’ say over Britain’s constitution
For immediate release, 12th April 2016 Statement from the Electoral Reform Society on behalf of Democracy Matters Senior figures from all the main parties are coming together to call for citizens to have a greater say over the constitutional changes sweeping the UK. The high-profile politicians – including Dominic Grieve MP, Suzanne Evans and Caroline […]
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Assembly North Overview Report
Revitalising Democracy in South Yorkshire The Report of Assembly North January 2016 Download the Assembly North Overview Report Contents Executive Summary Introduction. The Background to Assembly North. Why a Citizens’ Assembly? Why Devolution? Assembly North: Composition and Working Methods Who Participated in Assembly North? What Did Assembly North Do? Assembly North’s Discussions and Recommendations. The Scale […]
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South Yorkshire citizens want stronger Northern Powerhouse
For immediate release, Monday 9th November 11:15 Statement from the Democracy Matters project Contact: Will Brett ([email protected] / 07979 696 265) For more details visit www.citizensassembly.co.uk South Yorkshire citizens call for stronger devolution deal in UK’s first ever ‘Citizens’ Assembly’ Citizens vote in favour of Yorkshire & Humber regional assembly as best model of devolution, […]
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Media Coverage
We’ve collected together news articles about what is happening right now with devolution. The Northern Powerhouse has primarily been defined in economic terms. For instance, the Northern Powerhouse “has Chinese backing”, with Chinese investing in Northern universities, an air route to Manchester and other goodies. Read on the BBC Sheffield to host a ‘Northern Powerhouse summit’ […]
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NE devolution deal mustn’t be done behind closed doors
NE devolution deal mustn’t be done behind closed doors, say campaigners Electoral Reform Society says devolution plans could ‘flounder’ without real public involvement · Statement from the Electoral Reform Society · For immediate release – 19th October 2015, 14:30 Responding to the announcement that the government’s devolution plans for the North East have reached a […]
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How Is Local Government Funded?
This page sets out how local government is funded in England today. Sources of local government funding Local councils have four main sources of funding: Central government grants Business rates Council tax Fees and charges There are also a wide range of additional central government grants for local bodies which sit outside local council control. […]
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Citizen Participation in Local Governance
This page gives a quick overview of different ways that local councils could involve citizens more regularly in the decision making process. It offers introductions to petitions, referendums, participatory budgeting and citizens’ assemblies. One of the criticisms of the current process of establishing Devolution Deals is that there is no involvement of local people. It is a […]
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Promoting Prosperity and Well-Being
In this page: One of the government’s main reasons for devolving power to cities and regions is the desire to promote economic development across different parts of England. This is because it’s generally agreed that recent growth has been too concentrated in London and the South East. While economic prosperity is important, it is not […]
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Effective Services and Value for Money
In this page: One of the key criteria for judging whether to change how we are governed is whether doing so would improve public services. At the same time, most people do not want to pay more taxes. So thinking about efficient provision of services also matters. There are also important questions relating to how […]
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