The Government has set out plans for the UK to become the first
country to allow its citizens to vote online in an ambitious
shake-up to the parliamentary system.
Pilot schemes for local elections will begin in the spring and
there is an outside chance that online voting could be in place for
the next general election, Robin Cook, leader of the House of
Commons said in an interview this week.
There are also plans to use the Internet for daily feedback on
policy choices put before MPs.
The Internet blueprint, which is being headed by Cook, is seen by
the Government as a way to combat political apathy among younger
voters.
However, the plans for Web voting may be hampered by other delayed
government IT projects.
Last month Computer Weekly revealed that plans for a national
electoral register - which will underpin online voting - risked
being seriously delayed due to confusion over the 1998 Data
Protection Act.
Plans to create the UK's first national electoral register were
thrown into disarray by a High Court ruling last November that the
sale of electoral register information for commercial use breached
data protection and human rights laws.
Local authorities have since suspended sales of their electoral
registers and it could take up to a year before a national
electoral register is in place, industry sources suggest.