11th December 2024
On Wednesday 4th December, representatives of the Northern Ireland Open Government Network briefed the Committee for Finance at the Northern Ireland Assembly on the current precarious state of Open Government in Northern Ireland. They included Rebekah McCabe (Chair), Colm Burns, and Andrew Bolster. The open remarks prepared by the Chair can be read here and…
9th October 2024
The immediate response to reject any future clothing donations was a missed opportunity by the government. This issue around ‘freebies’ is an uncomfortable one, but it highlights a critical function of our democratic system: politicians making disclosures, and journalists holding them accountable in the public interest. A more strategic approach would have been to embrace…
9th October 2024
Ben Worthy and Michele Crepaz dig into the Labour gifts row, saying that while Starmer may not have broken any rules the story creates difficulties for the PM. They suggest that reforms to the ethics system need to be visible to shift public perceptions. Keir Starmer is in trouble over lobbying. Following a drumbeat of…
30th July 2024
Lobbying is a vital part of democracy but the perceived connection between money and politics has damaged UK politics since the 1990s. Over the last few years, there have been a slew of damaging high-profile lobbying stories, including the then Prime Minister not properly declaring interests, and one MP claiming to manipulate the rules to keep hospitality secret.…
11th July 2024
The Rt Hon. Keir Starmer MP Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party Sent by email 9th July 2024 Dear Prime Minister Re: Open government can rebuild trust, support reforms, and drive efficiency. Our heartfelt congratulations on your appointment as Prime Minister. Your leadership comes at a pivotal time. We, as civil…
14th June 2024
But the real question may be whether politicians trust us. In the first episode of Yes Minister in 1980, newly appointed Minister Jim Hacker sought to introduce a policy of Open Government to ‘take the nation into our confidence.’ He failed, of course, with his artful Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey musing that citizens have a…
16th April 2024
Multi-stakeholder Forum Read-out Wednesday 24th January 2024 Aim of the meeting The aim of this Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) was to review the monitoring and implementation of the Fifth National Action Plan for Open Government (NAP5) and co-creation of the Sixth National Action Plan for Open Government (NAP6). It included an announcement on the NAP5 final…
28th March 2024
I recently attended a workshop on governing new and emerging digital technologies, organised by the Open Government Partnership, in Nairobi, Kenya. Over the first 1.5 days we had the great privilege to hear from civil society and government presenters from across 11 countries about current digital governance actions, agendas and challenges.Then our focus turned to…
8th March 2024
From one point of view, the UK has been through an openness revolution. We take all this data for granted in 2024 but it’s important to remember what a difference it makes. If you wanted to find out, it was quite difficult. To take a very basic measure of democracy, if you wanted to find…
18th December 2023
Civil society leaders have today [18/12/23] welcomed the publication of the UK’s 6th National Action Plan (NAP) for Open Government, but stressed ‘more must be done.’ The biennial plan seeks to make the government more ‘open’ by increasing transparency, accountability and public participation in policy-making. It was created jointly by the government and civil society…