Secrets And Lies: Does More Transparency Make For Better Politics?
Speaker: Ben Worthy
When: 25 November 2025, 13:00 — 14:00
Venue: Online
Book Here https://my.bbk.ac.uk/ords/f?p=832:100:0:::100:P100_EV_ID:54736
3rd Seminar Series on Governance, Institutions, and Sustainability jointly hosted by the Centre for Political Economy and Institutional Studies and by the Birkbeck Responsible Business Centre, within the Birkbeck Business School.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
In the last few decades, a combination of Freedom of Information laws, open data and specific changes around lobbying have all opened up institutions to public scrutiny. It is hoped that openness can help the public to better understand who governs them, and, perhaps, then have a positive impact on perceptions on behaviour and improve legitimacy and trust. It can also stop corruption or misbehaviour in politics, by making politicians feel ‘watched’, making it more likely misbehaviour will be seen, or by catching them out if they do so. But has all this transparency improved politics and political behaviour? Greater transparency has increased information flows and created new sources and flows of information, which reach, directly and indirectly, out to voters. It has also bolstered accountability, while also (sometimes) deterring poor behaviour. However, it may also have led to greater hiding and avoidance. Some argue transparency, in certain cases, has also lead to misrepresentation and drive distrust.