Harman backs e-democracy

Harman is backing an e-democracy experiment after the general election

Commons leader Harriet Harman has decided to back a limited experiment with e-democracy after the general election.

This could result in Parliament being required to debate e-petitions if there is support above a minimum threshold.

She has put down a series of orders arguing that this will prepare the way for "a trial of debates in Westminster Hall, in the next session of Parliament, subject to the presentation of petitions of sufficient significance."

The move resembles work done by the Commons Reform Committee, which breathed new life into apparently moribund proposals from an earlier committee that Harman kicked into the long grass largely on grounds of cost.

They call for the preparation of a "revised" scheme to be considered after the election, with "revised" almost certainly meaning "cheaper".

Harman also backs the idea of a trial and calls for e-petitions to have "a slightly enhanced status", meaning they would appear on the Commons agenda papers and be formally presented in the chamber.

Government ministers including Ms Harman have been wary about progressing a formal e-petitions system for Parliament after 1.8 million motorists, angry over road charging plans, signed one to 10 Downing Street, effectively killing off the policy for a generation.

The committee proposed a threshold similar to the five per cent required for local e-petitions to be considered by local authorities, arguing that on a national scale this would require several million signatures. However, the committee warned: "Numbers alone, especially in an electronic age and easily mobilised by organised groups, should not be enough to guarantee attention."

This "deliberative democracy" – that is, democracy that requires a debate – was viewed as "difficult but possible".