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UK Parliament Explored: Petitions

This course looks at how petitions to the UK Parliament work and explores their role in raising awareness and instigating change.

1,785 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Find out how petitions to the UK Parliament work.

This course explores the role of petitions to the UK Parliament.
Find out how petitioning the UK Parliament works, the possible impacts and outcomes petitions can have and the range of themes and issues people petitioned Parliament about in 2015-17.

Discuss what makes a petition successful, gain a greater understanding of the role of the Petitions Select Committee and explore case studies of petitions both historical and contemporary that have achieved change.

This course is launched as part of a programme of events for UK Parliament Week 2017.

What topics will you cover?

  • An overview of how petitions to the UK Parliament work
  • An introduction to the role and work of the Petitions Select Committee
  • Paper petitions and how they are presented in the House of Commons Chamber
  • Key milestones for e-petitions, including receiving a Government response and triggering a parliamentary debate
  • An overview of themes and issues people petitioned about between 2015-2017
  • Historical petitioning and how people used petitions as a form of political participation
  • Contemporary petitions – What can they achieve? What constitutes success?
  • Beyond petitioning, getting your voice heard in Parliament.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Develop your understanding of how petitions to the UK Parliament work, including what happens when a petition achieves specified milestones
  • Explore the work of the Petitions Select Committee and gain a greater understanding of their role in the petitioning process
  • Discuss the potential outcomes petitions can achieve and reflect on petitioning as a form of political participation
  • Reflect on how petitions have effected change through discussing historical and contemporary case studies

Who is the course for?

This course is open to anyone with an interest in how the UK Parliament works and how they can get involved.

Who will you learn with?

I am a Senior Producer in Education and Engagement at UK Parliament.

Our work seeks to support understanding of and engagement with the work of the UK Parliament.

www.parliament.uk

Who developed the course?

UK Parliament

The UK Parliament represents the people of the United Kingdom and makes decisions that affect us all.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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