The parliamentary research behind a 10th anniversary petitioning event

Celebrating 10 years of the UK Parliament’s e-petitioning system, the Leeds event ‘Breaking Barriers to Engagement with Parliament’ brought together community groups and parliament representatives.

A collaboration between Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Professor of Politics, University of Leeds), Third Sector Leeds leadership group, and Petitions Committee (UK Parliament), the event aimed to inspire community organisations to support the communities they serve in using the e-petitioning system. 

The event’s genesis and content are direct responses to Professor Leston-Bandeira’s research project ‘Breaking Barriers to Engagement with Parliament’. The project was co-designed in collaboration with parliamentary officials from the UK and Welsh parliaments, to meet the key strategic aim of making political engagement through petitioning more inclusive of citizens from seldom-heard groups. 

It is significant that the Petitions Committee decided to do their only outside Westminster anniversary event in Leeds and to focus on seldom-heard groups; they’ve done this because of the research based at the University of Leeds. 

The project identified key aspects that can enhance political engagement and petitioning, including collaboration with other parliamentary citizen centred services and working with community organisations.  

Drawing on the research findings, the event in Leeds was developed to strengthen understanding and value of the UK Parliament and Government e-petitions system for seldom-heard communities. 

The Leeds event forms part of the 10-year anniversary celebrations and successes of the UK Parliament’s e-petitioning system. Throughout the summer and autumn of 2025, a series of events and activities will be running in Westminster, sparking new ideas for developments over the next 10 years.  

Attendees of the Leeds community event included representatives from across Leeds community groups and organisations, through Third Sector Leeds (TSL), with support from Voluntary Action Leeds (VAL), together with parliamentary representatives and Professor Leston-Bandeira.  

Engagement is integral to our work at the School of Politics and International Studies. Involving stakeholders such as community groups ensures research findings are applied practically, supporting the Faculty of Social Sciences’ Vision & Strategy goal of working collaboratively to drive positive social change. 

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You can find out more about Professor Leston-Bandeira via LinkedIn. 

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