UK GOVERNMENT TO TAKE HELM OF GLOBAL TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE
UK GOVERNMENT TO TAKE HELM OF GLOBAL TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE
FCDO Minister: ‘The UK will stand up for democracy and civil society.’
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) has confirmed the UK government will co-chair the 74-country transparency and accountability initiative from October 2026 to October 2027.
The UK will follow the Government of Brazil as government co-chair, with a focus on democratic resilience, shrinking space for civil society, online disinformation, and illicit finance.
Chris Elmore MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said: “As co-chair of the Open Government Partnership, the UK will stand up for democracy and civil society. That’s what we’re doing at home through the UK Open Government Network and our Defending Democracy Taskforce. These efforts stand side by side with our pivotal work to strengthen open government and democracy across the globe.”
“I look forward to leading our efforts to guide this vital partnership of countries, local governments and civil society organisations, as we work together to address threats to democratic resilience, shrinking space for civil society, online disinformation and the scourge of illicit finance.”
The UK government was a co-founder of the OGP in 2011, and has since published six national action plans created with civil society – an important aspect of open government – which have led to ground-breaking reforms including:
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A register of beneficial ownership to combat illicit finance and tackle dirty money, including in relation to Russia’s war in Ukraine
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Transparency in procurement processes to help save taxpayers’ money
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Algorithmic transparency standards to ensure people can look into automated decisions that impact on their lives.
Kevin Keith, Chair of the UK Open Government Network, which promotes open government and coordinates civil society input into the national plans with the Cabinet Office, said: “Whether it’s Russian money corrupting our politics, as seen in recent cases such as Nathan Gill, or AI rapidly reshaping how governments make decisions, riots fuelled by disinformation or record low levels of trust in institutions – the case for open government has never been stronger. We welcome this opportunity to work with the government and partners across all four nations, to raise standards at home and abroad, bring more people into policy-making, and turn ambition into delivery.”
Alongside the UK government’s membership of the OGP, there are 150 ‘local’ members, which include the Scottish and Northern Ireland governments, Glasgow City Council, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
At the global level, the UK government will co-chair with the OGP civil society co-chair, Laura Neuman, Senior Advisor for the Office of the Vice President of Peace Programs of The Carter Center.
An information session will be held in due course, but those interested can email: [email protected]