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Number 10 Downing Street Creates Political Controversy
By: Thomas Kennedy
Date: March 17, 2000
Site URL: http://www.number-10.gov.uk/
HotSite:
Number 10 Downing Street is creating a political stir in England, both on and offline. 10 Downing is a government-supported website that is allegedly allowing Labour politics to dominate the site. In Friday's online edition of The Register, Sir Bernard Ingham is quoted as saying, "The whole Web site is a clear example of abuse of power. The Labour Party is once again pushing at the boundaries between what is party and what is government".
The site, is intended to provide greater access to England's Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Several interactive features draw viewers into the site. The "10 Out Of 10" section asks viewers what they would do if they were Prime Minister.
Viewers are encouraged to get involved in volunteer activities, take governmental quizzes, or investigate the political ABCs. Feel free to have "Your Say" in the Speaker's Corner or Policy Forum. These interactive features complement plenty of facts, figures, and news articles to provide a valuable online resource for political information. Step into 10 Downing and see what's going on.
Political Spin:
10 Downing is the Prime Minister's site. Obviously, the content is going to be skewed a little toward the ruling party. If a Conservative held the position, Labour viewers would make the same argument. The Register published a Labour Party defense: "Obviously there are going to be party issues on the site...A site about number 10 will inevitably be linked to the Labour Party."Despite the bickering, Number 10 Downing Street serves as a fine example of governmental outreach through the internet. Online politics was born in America, and it is slowly creeping around the world. This website shows us that the student can teach the master a thing or two about interactive outreach to a national constituency.
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