We were invited to run a workshop prior to Question Time to stimulate thinking about values for democracy. The panel was chaired by Jenny Bond (ex royal corresponent and TV presenter)and panel members included the MP Alan Beith (Lib) and prospective canidates Anne-Marie Trevellyan (Con), Alan Strickland (Lab) and Bridget Donaldson (UK Youth Parliament)
The workshop consisted of residents from Northumberland. The brief for the workshop was to stimulate dialogue about values that are essential for democracy in the UK. The workshop started by considering three fundamental values that underpin our society. These are Freedom, Equality and Rationality. This introduction explored how Freedom and Equality often exist in a state of tension. The more freedom people have the less free they become and how some people argue that freedom is more important, while others argue for equality. This kind of dialogue was used to highlight a need for the third fundamental value for UK society - the value of rationality - to be able to find common sense solutions for values in tension. Once there was agreement that these three values were essential then other values became essential too. The purpose of the workshop was to identify what these other values are.
Using the values cards, 35 community representatives in 45 minutes reached a consensus that Tolerance, Freedom, Equality, Respect, Integrity, Peace, Reason and Honesty are essential values for Democracy in UK society.