Ed Miliband has recently backed a call from Democratic Audit and a range of youth organisations t... more Ed Miliband has recently backed a call from Democratic Audit and a range of youth organisations to lower the voting age in the UK to 16. In this post, the latest in our series on youth participation in democracy, Andy Mycock and Jonathan Tonge make the point that votes at 16 will not be a panacea to the problem of youth disengagement, and suggest we need wider reform of a political system that has become increasingly insular, self-selecting, and unrepresentative.
Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whethe... more Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whether it is right to re-examine the UK’s minimum voting age. The aim of the publication was to heighten the level of debate around the issue, an aim which one of the contributors, Andrew Mycock, shares. Here, he argues that one of the most encouraging things about the contributions is the consensus amongst their authors that, regardless of their views of the specific issue of votes at 16, it it alone is not a panacea to youth disengagement, and that a wider package of progressive reforms is needed.
This article explores the potential that ongoing regional devolution in England might transform t... more This article explores the potential that ongoing regional devolution in England might transform the so-called ‘party politics of Englishness’, complicating and potentially compromising the emergence of a nascent English political nationalism. It provides a primary examination of the extent to which conceptual and normative intersections between nationalism and regionalism are reordering both the constitutional architecture and the party political landscape of England. The article argues that politicised manifestations of ‘new English regionalism’ raise new and important challenges to how the two main Union-wide political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, frame and articulate issues of English national party organisation, policy development and identity. The article concludes by noting that the emergence of national and regional forms of identity politics in England is undermining the plurinational organisation and political unity of both parties.
Citizenship education has been a compulsory feature of the curriculum in secondary schools in Eng... more Citizenship education has been a compulsory feature of the curriculum in secondary schools in England since 2002. However, its future may be uncertain amid inter-party disputes over the utility of such teaching. Moreover, there are substantial concerns over the breadth, aims and reach of the Citizenship curriculum. There is a lack of clarity over whether good citizenship can be taught and dispute over whether it can or should go beyond bolstering civil engagement (volunteering) and improving civic (political) activity. This article assesses the motivations for the introduction of Citizenship and the extent to which it has become a politicised panacea to a range of emerging policy challenges. Then, using survey data gathered for the Youth Citizenship Commission, established under the previous government to encourage community and democratic participation by young people, the article tests whether citizenship education is making a difference to the engagement of young people in the ci...
... the term 'youth', how it relates to 'adulthood' and what are the implications... more ... the term 'youth', how it relates to 'adulthood' and what are the implications in delineating the allocation of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Adulthood is often defined by specified 'ages of consent' based on perceptions of vulnerability, competence and comprehension ...
Recent calls for British values to be promoted in citizenship classes raise as many questions abo... more Recent calls for British values to be promoted in citizenship classes raise as many questions about civic and national identity in the UK as they purport to answer. In particular, to what extent is talk of promoting 'Britishness' in schools any longer relevant in the post-devolution era? It is increasingly apparent that British values and culture have a variety of meanings for the multitude of social groups across and within the devolved state. Moreover, while the introduction of statutory Citizenship lessons in England was undoubtedly an important event in British political history, citizenship education is treated very differently within the curricula of each home nation. This paper explores the relationship between the 'politics of Britishness' and attempts to promote civic and national identity through citizenship education in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The implications of this policy divergence for the future of British citizenship are then considered, before the paper concludes by arguing for greater joined-up thinking on citizenship education across the UK.
Ed Miliband has recently backed a call from Democratic Audit and a range of youth organisations t... more Ed Miliband has recently backed a call from Democratic Audit and a range of youth organisations to lower the voting age in the UK to 16. In this post, the latest in our series on youth participation in democracy, Andy Mycock and Jonathan Tonge make the point that votes at 16 will not be a panacea to the problem of youth disengagement, and suggest we need wider reform of a political system that has become increasingly insular, self-selecting, and unrepresentative.
Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whethe... more Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whether it is right to re-examine the UK’s minimum voting age. The aim of the publication was to heighten the level of debate around the issue, an aim which one of the contributors, Andrew Mycock, shares. Here, he argues that one of the most encouraging things about the contributions is the consensus amongst their authors that, regardless of their views of the specific issue of votes at 16, it it alone is not a panacea to youth disengagement, and that a wider package of progressive reforms is needed.
This article explores the potential that ongoing regional devolution in England might transform t... more This article explores the potential that ongoing regional devolution in England might transform the so-called ‘party politics of Englishness’, complicating and potentially compromising the emergence of a nascent English political nationalism. It provides a primary examination of the extent to which conceptual and normative intersections between nationalism and regionalism are reordering both the constitutional architecture and the party political landscape of England. The article argues that politicised manifestations of ‘new English regionalism’ raise new and important challenges to how the two main Union-wide political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, frame and articulate issues of English national party organisation, policy development and identity. The article concludes by noting that the emergence of national and regional forms of identity politics in England is undermining the plurinational organisation and political unity of both parties.
Citizenship education has been a compulsory feature of the curriculum in secondary schools in Eng... more Citizenship education has been a compulsory feature of the curriculum in secondary schools in England since 2002. However, its future may be uncertain amid inter-party disputes over the utility of such teaching. Moreover, there are substantial concerns over the breadth, aims and reach of the Citizenship curriculum. There is a lack of clarity over whether good citizenship can be taught and dispute over whether it can or should go beyond bolstering civil engagement (volunteering) and improving civic (political) activity. This article assesses the motivations for the introduction of Citizenship and the extent to which it has become a politicised panacea to a range of emerging policy challenges. Then, using survey data gathered for the Youth Citizenship Commission, established under the previous government to encourage community and democratic participation by young people, the article tests whether citizenship education is making a difference to the engagement of young people in the ci...
... the term 'youth', how it relates to 'adulthood' and what are the implications... more ... the term 'youth', how it relates to 'adulthood' and what are the implications in delineating the allocation of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Adulthood is often defined by specified 'ages of consent' based on perceptions of vulnerability, competence and comprehension ...
Recent calls for British values to be promoted in citizenship classes raise as many questions abo... more Recent calls for British values to be promoted in citizenship classes raise as many questions about civic and national identity in the UK as they purport to answer. In particular, to what extent is talk of promoting 'Britishness' in schools any longer relevant in the post-devolution era? It is increasingly apparent that British values and culture have a variety of meanings for the multitude of social groups across and within the devolved state. Moreover, while the introduction of statutory Citizenship lessons in England was undoubtedly an important event in British political history, citizenship education is treated very differently within the curricula of each home nation. This paper explores the relationship between the 'politics of Britishness' and attempts to promote civic and national identity through citizenship education in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The implications of this policy divergence for the future of British citizenship are then considered, before the paper concludes by arguing for greater joined-up thinking on citizenship education across the UK.
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Papers by Andrew Mycock