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Conservatives hire internet guru Conservatives hire internet guru
(41 minutes later)
The Tories have asked a democracy campaigner to help them try to make government more open and efficient. The Tories have enlisted the digital democracy innovator who built the No 10 petitions website to help them make government more open and efficient.
The party has recruited Tom Steinberg, whose TheyWorkForYou website tracks the activities and voting records of MPs, to be its new internet adviser. Tom Steinberg is the founder of mySociety, a non-aligned organisation which builds websites designed to help empower people and enhance democracy.
Mr Steinberg said public services and citizens' relationship with the state could be enhanced by the internet. MySociety sites include TheyWorkForYou, which allows people to track their MP's activities and to contact them.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Frances Maude said technology must be used more efficiently during a time of austerity. The Tories say they want to use the web to boost government efficiency.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Frances Maude, who announced Mr Steinberg's appointment as an adviser at the Conservative conference in Manchester, said technology must be used more efficiently during a time of austerity.
Civic actionCivic action
Mr Steinberg founded the MySociety group of websites aimed at making government and Parliament more transparent. He said that under a Conservative government the aim would be to engage more with the public and open up government data.
Mr Maude told the Conservative conference in Manchester that Mr Steinberg had shown how government could work with communities to "stimulate real social innovation and civic action". In moves the party hopes will improve efficient government the Tories have already said they would use open source software as much as possible and publish on a website details of all government spending over £25,000.
He stressed the appointment was part of the Tories' attempts to use technology more effectively and efficiently after what he said was the chronic waste under Labour. All government contacts over £10,000 being tendered by the government would also be published online, Mr Maude added.
Mr Steinberg, who once worked in the prime minister's policy unit, told the Guardian he was "looking forward" to the role. "The UK Government spends more on ICT than any other government and yet the history of UK government ICT projects is littered with budget overruns, delays and functional failures. Huge centralised databases have been created, with a thoroughly casual approach to safeguarding private data.
"A smarter use of IT by government can do more that just deliver services more quickly and efficiently, it can also open up the institutions of state and make our lives as citizens more effective and rewarding," he said. "We need a fundamental rethink. We need fewer mega-projects; a rigid insistence on open standards and inter-operability; a level playing field for open source software and for smaller suppliers; a much greater willingness to buy off the shelf rather than always seeking bespoke perfection; opening up access to government data; a new vision for how we can engage with citizens; and far more effective procurement and management of projects."
"Tom Steinberg has led the way in showing how government can engage with citizens online and catalyse social innovation and civic action. It's great news that he's working with us to develop the vision."
Advice sharing
Mr Steinberg said: "A smarter use of IT by government can do more than just deliver services more quickly and efficiently, it can also open up the institutions of state and make our lives as citizens more effective and rewarding. I am looking forward to being part of this change."
The appointment was welcomed at a packed Google fringe meeting on Monday where prospective Conservative candidates were being given tips on how best to use the internet in their campaigning.
But the news was not welcomed by Labour MP Tom Watson on his blog. He said the appointment would create "mistrust between him and supporters of mySociety who are not Conservatives... I think it is incompatible with his position as boss of mySociety".
Mr Steinberg responded by saying it "is me that is doing the advising, not mySociety. And mySociety is strictly non-partisan". He also said it was an unpaid, part-time advisory position, and said he hoped he would be able to share his advice online for other political parties and the public to see.