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Jo uploads video evidence to inquiry on political engagement

May 20, 2009 2:52 PM

Axe the Parliamentary YouTube ban campaignJo has submitted YouTube evidence to a House of Lords inquiry on engaging the public with Parliamentary politics.

The House of Lords' 'People and Parliament' inquiry is the first ever Parliamentary inquiry to allow the public to submit evidence via YouTube, and Jo has taken the opportunity to submit her own video.

In her contribution, Jo makes several recommendations of things Parliament could do to engage people, both help the public to see and understand what goes on in Parliament, and also to encourage people to get involved in politics themselves. These include giving MPs and Lords training in how to use new technologies to communicate with the public, and allowing people to share clips of Parliament on YouTube and other websites.

Commenting, Jo said:

"As I say in the video, which you can now watch on YouTube, I think there are lots of things which can be done to make Parliament more open and engaging to the public.

"Westminster is the only Parliament in the UK which does not allow videos of debates in the chamber to be shared on YouTube and other websites, and I have been campaigning for some time for that ban to be lifted.

"It is also important that we encourage people to get involved in the political process themselves, including standing for election, and I think there is plenty we can do to get more people considering that as an option."

Jo is also a member of the Speaker's Conference, which is conducting an inquiry into how Parliament can be made more representative of the population as a whole, including representing women, ethnic minorities and disabled people.

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