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Communities and neighbourhoods

The New Politics

Date of speech	28 February 2008
Location	Congress Centre, Great Russell Street, London
Event summary	International e-Participation Symposium: Empowering Citizens through Technology and Participation

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Draft text of the speech - may differ from the delivered version.

It is a pleasure to be here and to welcome so many distinguished guests:

• from Africa, Europe, America;
• from local authorities, businesses and community groups across the UK;
• and from a whole range of political traditions and backgrounds.

The fact that there are so many of us here today, and from such a spectrum of places and positions, shows the massive influence that new technology is having on the nature of democracy.

And I welcome this chance to share lessons about how we can make the most of the opportunities it offers.

"...we've gone from the internet being the exclusive preserve of geeks, to a place where the grannies roam free."

New technology - from digital TV, to mobile phones, to teleconferencing, and above all the internet - has made a huge difference to the way most of us in the UK work, play and socialise. And it's all happened in a very short space of time.

As little as ten years ago, scarcely one in ten of us had ever used the internet. Getting online was expensive, time-consuming, and all too often disappointing.

Today, half of homes are plugged into broadband that gives fast and easy access to a wealth of information and entertainment. 

Two in three adults access the net daily.

And though the elderly are the least likely to have ventured online, that is changing fast. In fact, a 2007 survey showed using the internet to be the top pastime for pensioners - edging out even gardening and DIY.

So we've gone from the internet being the exclusive preserve of geeks, to a place where the grannies roam free.

And I very much welcome it.

The internet doesn't always get balanced coverage.

"I think it's important because it has the potential to open the door to a new kind of politics."

Yes, it's home to some things that are very unpleasant, some that are frivolous, some that are downright silly - videos of people making bottles of soft drink explode by sticking sweets in them.

But it's also good for doing useful, significant things. Finding out where your nearest dentist is. Reserving a book in the local library. Getting in touch with your MP. 

And I think it's important because it has the potential to open the door to a new kind of politics:

• one that gives people new ways to have a meaningful say on the issues that matter to them;
• one that helps them shape public services around their needs;
• and one that makes it easier for community groups to make common cause and make their neighbourhood safer, cleaner, greener.

This is exactly the kind of politics that Gordon Brown has called for. Exactly the kind of politics we need to face up to the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Drawing not on narrow circles of power, but on the expertise and ingenuity of the whole British people.

There are wealth of sites that show that ingenuity in action. Sites showing people have seen the extraordinary opportunities offered by new technology and seized them.

There's freecycle (external link) - a community people passing on the old TVs, hoovers or bookcases that they don't want anymore, rather than dumping them in landfill.

There's netmums (external link) - where parents can share hints and tips about childminders, child-friendly restaurants, or ideas for days out in the local area.

There's timebank (external link) - like a dating service, it puts people who want to volunteer in touch with local organisations who need a hand.

These are websites helping protect our environment, strengthening neighbourhoods by making volunteering easier, creating a network so people can make the most out of the places where they live.

And then there are the sites like youtube and facebook. If there's a local issue you care about - say, a plan to close the local open-air swimming pool - you might use the first to post a video explaining your point of view: and on the second you might start a group so other people can express their support.

It's a great way of making government sit up and listen.

In all honesty I have to say that where people led the way, Government has not always been quite so on the ball. 

But I think we are now catching up. 

We are getting better at using new technology as a way to carry out a dialogue.  

And that dialogue helps us make a better policy that really reflects what people need and want.

I did a webchat earlier this week, getting people's views on the whole range of things I'm responsible for.

My Department's website has an online forum where we're very keen to hear what people think about policy ideas - for example, about the recommendations from the recent commission on encouraging more people to stand as councillors. 

Or take the petitions on the number 10 website (external link). They've been very controversial because people have asked difficult questions.

I'm pleased that they're being asked, because it's surely right people should have that opportunity to have their say. I had a look this weekend. People are talking about important stuff. Burma. Capital Gains Tax. The police pay deal.

The government response isn't always going to be what they want to hear. But we've got both sides listening. And sometimes it's a chance for government to make clear what its position really is - for example, clearing up the misconception that the Red Arrows had been banned from doing a flypast at the 2012 Olympics.

Yes, we do also have a petition about Jeremy Clarkson becoming Prime Minister. 

But if having that petition is the price of making it easy for people to have their say, I'm happy to pay it.

There are also some local authorities really showing what you can do with new technology.

Lancashire County Council (external link) webcasts most of its public meetings and attracts an average of 1,500 viewers each month.

The London Borough of Kingston (external link) has created a webspace for young people that young people can manage and edit themselves.

E@syconnects (external link) in South Yorkshire links not just local councils but emergency services, voluntary groups, job centres and passenger transport authorities in one site, making it just that little bit easier to use and more accessible.

And Redbridge (external link) has launched a new website that you can personalise so it puts the information that you want to see right on the front page.

That's great stuff. As well as making services more responsive, research - sponsored by my department and Sunderland City Council - has shown that by reducing car journeys, online services have the potential to cut carbon emissions by the equivalent of millions of air miles.

So I challenge other authorities to think about what they could do. 

I think it's clear that in the future, there's only one way we're going.

"...information technology can play its part in enriching democracy, strengthening communities, and making the new politics possible everywhere."

As the new technology cements its position in our lives Government, both central and local, needs to keep raising its game.

There isn't a single element of policy that isn't affected.

And we are thinking about how we can use technology to explain what we're doing and why, to deliver services, to ask for people's views.

So I'm pleased to say, for example, that very shortly we will be making sure that everyone in the country can apply for planning permission quickly and easily using just one internet form.

The Local Government Association and the Improvement and Development Agency are considering how they can encourage more councillors to reach out through their websites, how things like teleconferencing to vote at council meeting could, potentially, make it easier to combine being an elected representative with caring responsibilities.

And I've used youtube for party political messages for a while, but we're using it more and more for Government business too: I am the narrator in a youtube video (external link) showcasing the new National Muslim Women's Advisory Group and how it's going to help make sure we hear voices who too often go unheard.

But ultimately, in such a rapidly changing environment, we can't predict exactly what's coming next. 

New applications could revolutionise almost overnight. 

We've already got web 2.0 - and I'm certainly not going to guess what web 3.0 will look like. But I know it's got the potential to turn our assumptions on their head.

And that's why I believe that fundamentally we'll fail if we stick rigidly to tried and tested approaches.

We need to keep humble, keep nimble, keep learning from each other - sharing experiences not just across different parts of the UK but with partners across the whole world.

So I'm really looking forward to hearing about the successes and challenges you are all facing.

A final thought.

As early as forty years ago, American writer Alvin Toffler said that after agriculture and industry, information technology would spark a third revolution in the way we live.

Every year that prediction seems truer and truer.

So I hope that his other prediction - that "knowledge is the most democratic source of power" - will also hold true. And that information technology can play its part in enriching democracy, strengthening communities, and making the new politics possible everywhere.