If there is a snap election, what can we do to improve the campaign?

The rules governing election campaigns in the UK are no longer fit for purpose: parliamentary committees, independent reports, and even the government have all acknowledged that. Yet if, as looks likely, an early election is called in the coming weeks or months, those rules will not have been updated. A vital question therefore arises: What can others – journalists, regulators, researchers, campaigners ­– do in the meantime to improve the information available to voters and enhance the quality of political discussion?

Building on the Constitution Unit’s recent work on these themes, this seminar will draw together some of the leading voices across a range of sectors to examine what practical steps can be taken.

Speakers

Dorothy Byrne is Head of News & Current Affairs at Channel 4. In her recent MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh Festival, she argued that broadcasters must do more to call out lies and help voters discern what is really going on.

Ed Humpherson is Director General for Regulation at the UK Statistics Authority. The UKSA has been notably forthright in criticising campaigners’ misleading use of official statistics, not least during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.

Joe Mitchell is a director at Democracy Club, an organisation seeking to build the digital foundations to support everyone’s participation in democratic life. Democracy Club are best known for crowdsourcing data on election candidates.

Will Moy is Chief Executive of Full Fact, the UK’s leading independent fact checking organisation.

Chair

Dr Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit, and co-author of Doing Democracy Better: How Can Information and Discourse in Election and Referendum Campaigns in the UK Be Improved?