Lov3ll
03-08-2007, 06:36 PM
MPs to assess e-petitions in wake of road pricing fiasco
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent
Thursday March 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
MPs will hear evidence about the future role of e-petitions today, in the wake of the million-strong petition to the Downing Street website against national road pricing.
The unprecedented response to the innovation on the No 10 site provoked the prime minister, Tony Blair, into providing a personalised email response to each petitioner.
Now MPs from the public administration select committee will quiz the creator of the e-petitions part of the Downing Street site, Tom Steinberg.
Mr Steinberg is the director of the charity mySociety, responsible for such websites as TheyWorkForYou.com, WriteToThem.com and Pledgebank.com
The committee will be looking at increasing public participation in politics through e-government and online democracy.
As little as five years ago few MPs had a website, and some refused to use email. Now an increasing number have their own blogs, including at least one cabinet minister, David Miliband.
Also giving evidence to the select committee will be the Hansard Society, which campaigns for greater public involvement in politics.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/egovernment/story/0,,2029043,00.html
Why even bother, around 2 million people signed the road petition and the government ignored it, so why are they even looking at e-petitions etc. if they have no intention of listening to what people want. :bash:
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent
Thursday March 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
MPs will hear evidence about the future role of e-petitions today, in the wake of the million-strong petition to the Downing Street website against national road pricing.
The unprecedented response to the innovation on the No 10 site provoked the prime minister, Tony Blair, into providing a personalised email response to each petitioner.
Now MPs from the public administration select committee will quiz the creator of the e-petitions part of the Downing Street site, Tom Steinberg.
Mr Steinberg is the director of the charity mySociety, responsible for such websites as TheyWorkForYou.com, WriteToThem.com and Pledgebank.com
The committee will be looking at increasing public participation in politics through e-government and online democracy.
As little as five years ago few MPs had a website, and some refused to use email. Now an increasing number have their own blogs, including at least one cabinet minister, David Miliband.
Also giving evidence to the select committee will be the Hansard Society, which campaigns for greater public involvement in politics.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/egovernment/story/0,,2029043,00.html
Why even bother, around 2 million people signed the road petition and the government ignored it, so why are they even looking at e-petitions etc. if they have no intention of listening to what people want. :bash: