e-politics survey (telewest)

A Telewest event, last Wednesday, 23 March in London, was occasioned by the launch of Vision21 survey research (for Telewest) on electronic communications between MPs and the public.

Both Derek Wyatt, MP and Declan McHugh of the Hansard were there as well.

As customary now for IPOP people (ah-ehm!) Steve Ward made the news, on the BBC online as well as in The Register.

From the BBC:

Dr Stephen Ward, a research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, has spent the last six months analysing MPs websites and is not impressed with what he has found.

"Most offer just standard information and are essentially cyber brochures. Very few offer interactivity," he said.

He believes most MPs are wary of direct dialogue with their constituents.

"Lots of MPs don't want that dialogue and feel they haven't got the time for it," he said.

The few websites that did impress him were those that were updated on a daily or weekly basis or ones which laid out how a particular MP stood on a range of issues.

Read the full e-politics report (based on 3,150 phone interviews, CATI, February 2005).