All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Civic Societies
"The APPG for Civic Societies was established to represent the civic society movement in Parliament and help make the movement’s voice heard"
Laura Sandys MP (first chair of the APPG for Civic Societies)
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies provided a forum during the 2019-2024 Parliamentary calendar to discuss issues related to the civic movement and offer a platform to raise these issues on the parliamentary agenda. The group was chaired by Craig Mackinlay MP (Conservative), and Vice-Chairs included Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat) and Rosie Duffield (Labour Party). The group was supported in the House of Lords by Baroness Kay Andrews. The group was disbanded, like all APPGs, at the start of the General Election in 2024. Civic Voice is currently working with MPs to re-launch the group.
Civic Voice's Director, Ian Harvey is the registered Secretary.
You can see the APPG for Civic Societies listed on the Parliamentary website here.
MPs Registered with the APPG in the previous parliament were:
- Craig Mackinlay (Chair) South Thanet, Conservative
- Rosie Duffield (Vice Chair) Canterbury, Labour
- Sarah Olney (Vice Chair) Richmond Park, Liberal Democrats
- Mark Garnier (Vice Chair) Wyre Forest, Conservative
- Peter Bone (Vice Chair) Wellingborough, Conservative
- Steve Brine, Winchester, Conservative .
- Stephen Morgan, Portsmouth, South Labour
- Baroness Kay Andrews (House of Lords) Labour
- Ruth Cadbury MP, Brentford and Isleworth, Labour
- Bambos Charalambous MP, Enfield, Southgate, Labour
- Sir Ed Davey MP, Kingston and Surbiton, Liberal Democrats
- Tim Farron MP, South Lakes MP, Liberal Democrats
- Sir John Hayes MP, South Holland and The Deepings, Conservative .
- Rupa Huq MP, Ealing Central and Acton, Labour
- Paul Maynard MP, Blackpool North and Cleveleys, Conservative
- Karl McCartney MP, (Vice Chair) Lincoln, Conservative .
- Robbie Moore MP, Keighley Conservative
- Stephen Morgan MP, Portsmouth
- Alec Shelbrooke MP, Wetherby, Conservative
- Greg Smith MP, Buckingham, Conservative
- Cat Smith MP, Lancaster and Fleetwood, Labour
- Catherine West MP, Hornsey and Wood Green, Labour
- William Wragg MP, Hazel Grove, Conservative
- James Wild MP, North West Norfolk, Conservative
Is your MP a member of the group? Invite them to join using our template letter found here.
APPG priorities
The APPG priorities during the previous Parliament focused on Levelling Up. The Levelling Up White Paper predicts that by 2030, pride in place, including residents' satisfaction with their town centre and involvement in local culture and community, will have increased in every region of the UK, with the gap between top-performing and other areas narrowing. We worked with MPs to look into this area of work to consider how Civic Societies can help influence this agenda.
Secretary
Ian Harvey, The Coffin Works, 13-15 Fleet Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, B3 1JP
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
What is an APPG?
An all-party group has a membership of backbench Members of the House of Commons and/or Houses of Lords of more than one party. They have a liaison function and, when necessary, can exert pressure on a Minister to modify policy or influence legislation and further action in particular areas.
All-party groups draw attention to certain aspects of public affairs and assist in keeping the Government informed of parliamentary opinion, and may act as pressure-groups to promote a specific cause. An approved list of registered all-party groups was established by the House on 31 October 1984.
Click on the links below to see reports for some of our past events.
APPG for Civic Societies: 100 years on: Recruting a new frontline - 19/04/2016
APPG for Civic Societies and APPG on Local Democracy: Is the Planning System Working? - 07/06/2016