LSE Politics Blog

The mission of British Politics and Policy at LSE is to increase the public understanding of the social sciences in the context of British government. Below are recent posts which relate to the theme of "Government on the Web." The full blog is available at http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/.

LSE Politics Blog

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Experts analyse and debate recent developments across UK government, politics and policy
URL: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy
Updated: 20 hours 36 min ago

In the 2010 election, the online space was seen as a battleground to be fought over. In future elections it could be used as a method for better understanding the public.

18 Dec 2011
While journalists speculated about whether the 2010 UK General Election was the country’s ”first Internet election”, semantic polling (using algorithms to read social media data) was under-examined. Nick Anstead and Ben O’Loughlin explore the role of semantic polling in the … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. 2010 may not have marked the first ‘internet election’, but digital platforms are of ever increasing importance in political campaigning
  2. Book Review: Political Communication in Britain: The Leader Debates, the Campaign and the Media in the 2010 General Election
  3. The Barnsley by-election suggests that the collective health of the Coalition government is now in jeopardy. On current polls the Liberal Democrats will do badly in the May local elections

Book Review: Blogistan: The Internet and Politics in Iran

18 Dec 2011
Asiya Islam reviews a book on the special significance of blogging in Iran, concluding it is a must read for those interested in the Middle East, media studies or free speech. Blogistan: The Internet and Politics in Iran. Annabelle Sreberny … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. Book Review: The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You
  2. Book Review: Political Communication in Postmodern Democracy: challenging the primacy of politics
  3. Book Review: Social Movements, Public Spheres and the European Politics of the Environment

Coordinated action for innovation is needed to create the networks and ecosystems required to prevent a lost decade of stagnation in both private and public spheres

18 Dec 2011
As economic growth remains elusive and fears grow concerning the possibility of a double dip recession, there is cause to believe that the UK could be headed for a decade-long period of stagnation and deprivation. Charles Levy outlines how a … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. As the coalition government moves to create new public-private partnerships and sell off government assets, the QinetiQ privatization of 2006 is a case study in how not to do things ‘transparently’
  2. Making the most of our public services will demand a new way of thinking about support for innovation
  3. The current jobs crisis is the result of a lack of business confidence and a shortage of consumers with money to spend. The government needs to create a long-term framework to drive innovation and raise productivity across the economy

The gender imbalance online seems to be the result of wider political exclusion, not digital exclusion.

18 Dec 2011
The gender balance in UK politics is one of the most unbalanced in Europe, as only 22 per cent of candidates standing for Parliament in the last general election were female. New research by the Hansard Society on gender and … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. The government’s new Digital Economy Act will do little to prevent file sharing – the music industry must continue to innovate online if it is to survive
  2. Britain needs a digital inclusion policy with concrete targets for both availability and take-up to counter the emergence of a digital underclass.
  3. Ten years after tax, social security departments in the USA and elsewhere are moving cautiously online. The UK is pioneering ‘digital by default’ services and the advent of a universal credit at DWP could be an opportunity for breakthrough progress

Innovative use of crowdsourcing technology presents novel prospects for research to interact with much larger audiences, and much more effectively than ever before

18 Dec 2011
As academics work to illustrate the true value of their work to the public, some might struggle to make a seemingly esoteric project seem relevant, accessible and interesting to the public at large. Alastair Dunning believes that the advancement of … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. The LSE Impact Blog’s new guide to using Twitter in university research, teaching, and impact activities, is now available.
  2. There is a pressing need for credible research into the causes and the consequences of the recent riots. A new joint study between the LSE and the Guardian aims to address this.

Britain needs a digital inclusion policy with concrete targets for both availability and take-up to counter the emergence of a digital underclass.

18 Dec 2011
Internet use and information technology seems ubiquitous throughout our society – for many, life would be unimaginable without it. But, as Ellen Helsper argues, there is a vast ‘digital underclass’ in the UK that has not benefitted from increasing rates … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. The gender imbalance online seems to be the result of wider political exclusion, not digital exclusion.
  2. Secret affairs with radical Islam: why Britain’s covert foreign policy needs to change
  3. Time is ticking on climate change: we urgently need a new, legally binding agreement with concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gases

Book Review: Campaign Communication and Political Marketing

18 Dec 2011
James Moran reviews an extensively well-researched and thorough book dealing with every level and stage of political campaigning. Campaign Communication and Political Marketing. Philippe J Maarek. Wiley Blackwell. April 2011. Find this book at: Google Books Amazon Philippe J. Maarek’s analysis … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. Book Review: Political Communication in Britain: The Leader Debates, the Campaign and the Media in the 2010 General Election
  2. Book Review: Making Sense of Media and Politics: Five Principles in Political Communication
  3. Book Review: Globesity, Food Marketing and Family Lifestyles

Book Review: Networked: A Contemporary History of News in Transition

18 Dec 2011
Barbara Richter reviews an exciting new book on the future of journalism and news media, which will create debate amongst journalists, students and politicians alike. Networked: A Contemporary History of News in Transition. Adrienne Russell. Polity. June 2011. Find this … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. The News International phone-hacking saga threatens to retoxify the Tory brand. Cameron needs to be ruthless to save his reputation
  2. The NoTW closure marks a massive moment in the balance between news media and authority. In a world where power is mediated so intensively, it is vital that the citizen has the right information and proper forums for open and fair debate
  3. Is This How History Isn’t Made?

Street level crime maps may be an example of a nudge in the wrong direction if they lead to fewer crimes being reported

18 Dec 2011
Earlier this year, the government unveiled online crime maps, which enabled local residents to track crime right down to their street level. Steve Gibbons is not surprised that this policy may have been a nudge in the wrong direction; a … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. The Home Office’s new online Crime Map is a step forward in providing the public with information, but it ignores the role of the police, oversimplifies vastly different types of offences and belies crime’s downward trend in recent years.
  2. The ‘rehabilitation revolution’ in the England and Wales prison system will be slow and uncertain. But small, low-cost measures can lead in the right direction.
  3. A vote for AV may lead to fewer safe seats but whether this would make MPs work harder is still up for debate

The internet never forgets: government measures to protect privacy are unlikely to succeed in the social media age

18 Dec 2011
The recent furore over the unmasking of holders of super-injunctions via Twitter has led some to claim that in the social media age, clamping down on privacy by governments will fail. Dr Paul Reilly looks at two recent cases that … Continue reading → You may also be interested in the following posts:
  1. There is a thin line between privacy and secrecy, and increasingly only the famous and wealthy can afford to have their privacy protected when it suits them. The UK needs a proper privacy law.
  2. Social media didn’t start the fire: Proposals for the temporary shutdown of social media during riots are unlikely to prevent further unrest
  3. ‘Social kettling’ and the closure of domestic violence shelters are amongst the new challenges for feminists in 2011: they are responding with a new activism, using social media and collective action