Government gripped by tweeting

Released 01/07/2009

Ministers are using Twitter website to stay in touch

Hazel Blears and Ed Balls are the latest MPs to join Twitter, pushing the number of Members of Parliament using the service up over the sixty mark, to 64.

TweetMinster.co.uk, the service that makes it easy for the public to connect with MPs using Twitter, has revealed that amongst the MPs there are also 13 ministers and three whips tweeting.

The growing use of Twitter among Politicians is not solely due to Twitter's growth; Twitter use in the UK is second only to the USA. More recently, the increase in Politicians on Twitter has been due to its use within relevant contexts, such as during the events surrounding the Iranian election.

The use of Twitter has in fact become increasingly popular during Prime Minister's Questions, around political programmes such as BBC Question Time and key events such as the European Election. More recently, several MPs used Twitter during the election of the new speaker John Bercow, commenting during the voting proceedings and sharing their voting intentions. Sadiq Khan recently became the first MP to announce a ministerial appointment on Twitter.

The fact that alongside the 64 MPs, there are also 93 Prospective Parliamentary Candidates using the service shows how Twitter is likely to be an important communications tool come the next general election.

Of the 64 MPs on Twitter 63% are Labour, 22% are Liberal Democrat and 13% are Conservative.

Alberto Nardelli, co-founder of TweetMinster, said: "We're delighted to see so many MPs embracing Twitter and connecting with people, and that TweetMinster is contributing to a process that is making politics more approachable and open. Six months ago there were only four MPs on Twitter.

"Now, as a local councillor put it during the recent speaker election, true interaction via Twitter with MPs during a Parliamentary debate is a shaping model for the future of democracy. At TweetMinster, we are honoured to be contributing to such a future."

A full list of MPs and PPCs on Twitter can be found at
www.tweetminster.co.uk.

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