e-Minister explores democracy in the information age
Douglas Alexander, Minister for e-commerce, has called on the technology and internet community to work with Government to open up new ways to encourage participation in the democratic process.
Mr Alexander said between them they could play a leading role in opening up new democratic channels, including:
- New online voting, making the voting process more convenient and accessible; and
- Electronic public participation, providing enhanced opportunities to participate in the democratic process between elections.
Mr Alexander also outlined the next phase of the UKOnline campaign that aims to enable everyone to make the most of the internet and make the UK a leader in the knowledge economy.
In his recent speech to the 'Democracy in the Information Age' conference, Mr Alexander said: "Getting people back into the democratic process is a huge challenge. In the UK we have already embarked upon an ambitious programme to tackle this. New technology will help to empower people, encouraging them into and, strengthening the democratic process. I believe it is time to put e-democracy on the information age agenda and, for Governments to set out what they mean by e-democracy and how they intend to use the power of technology to strengthen democracy.
"We must open up new democratic channels, through which Government and representatives can relate to citizens. We must make citizens feel democratically empowered beyond their few seconds in the polling booth. UK online is a vital part of our drive to become a leading knowledge economy, and is a key part of the process of opening up new democratic channels."
Mr Alexander spoke at a number of fringe meetings during the recent Labour conference in Brighton on the digital divide and how to ensure that a certain sector of the population is not excluded from participation in the democratic process due to a lack of access to online facilities. He also spoke of his plans to move the country up the 'e-adoption ladder.'
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Richard Powell, UKTECH