Local Democracy

British Youth Council: Online Action Network

The British Youth Council aim to empower young people and get them involved in the democratic process by running training sessions, creating volunteering opportunities and build campaigns to help younger people get involved. You can get involved by joining the online action network.

http://www.byc.org.uk/get-active

HearFromYourMP

Hear from your MP is a way of getting your MP to talk to you. You sign up and when 25constituents have signed up your MP will receive an e-mail stating that they have constituents waiting to hear from them. When the MP replies, you will be sent an e-mail containing a link to the responce on it.

http://www.hearfromyourmp.com/

Tough Choices

Tough Choices is an initiative set up by Devon County Council which invites everyone to get their views about about the budget for 2011/2012 heard.

http://toughchoices.co.uk/exeter/

Get Parliamentary training

It's important to know what parliament does and how it works. Parliament provides free training on subjects such as contacting MPs and Lords, how bills progress through parliament, an introduction to Parliament and more besides.

http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/outreach-and-training/training/

Spread the word about elections

Voting is one of the most important ways in which people can be an active citizen. By spreading the word using posters, fliers, information leaflets, etc; you can help increase the voter turnout for local and national government elections and help get the government that most reflects views locally and nationally.

http://www.dopolitics.org.uk/audiance
/general-population?queries_audiance_query=General_population

Become a Member of the UK Youth Parliament

The UK Youth Parliament allows younger people to use their enthusiasm and their energy to help change the world for the better. You can get involved by becoming a member of the the UK Youth Parliament which will allow you to meet with MPs and local councillors, organise events, run campaigns, make speeches, hold debates and ensure the views of young people are listened to by decision makers.

http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/

UK Youth Parliament: Campaign to 'Protect Buses'

The UK Youth Parliament's 'Get on Board' campaign aims to make bus travel for younger people fairer and cheaper. One of the ways they are doing this is by asking people to lobby their local bus company and persuade them to lower their prices, in the hope of  increasing bus usage and reducing car dependency.

http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/
get_on_board/pages/bus_company.html

Contact your MP: 'Write To Them'

'Write To Them' is a website that makes contacting your local MP extremely easy. Type in your post code, pick your representative and type your message.

http://www.writetothem.com/

Vote in the UK Youth Parliment elections

Vote in the UK Youth Parliament elections. Members of Youth Parliament are elected to represent all young people living in the area.

http://geturvoiceheard.co.uk/ukyp2011/get-involved/i-want-to-be-able-to-vote/

Exeter City Council: Focus groups

Exeter City Council focus groups are meetings of 8 - 12 people which last about one and a half to two hours. People's views on a topic are recorded and this is used to help improve the service or policy.

http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2119

Vote in your local elections

One of the easiest ways of becoming an active citizen is to vote in local elections; choosing the candidate that best suits your personal views. The Exeter City Council's site provides all the information you need to know about voting.

http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3465

Contact your local Councillor

Your local councillors can influence the decisions that affect Exeter at council assembly meetings. You can take part in this decision-making process by asking your councillors to represent your views.

http://committees.exeter.gov.uk/

Become a City Councillor

City Councillors represent the views of constituents, deal with community enquiries (equally and without prejudice), actively encourage community involvement with the council and liaise with other organisations and services to develop the quality of life and community well being within the city.

http://www.exeter.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=760&listid=9275