The Challenges of Engagement
Public trust, knowledge and efficacy in British politics have been low in recent years. The UK’s central political institutions have felt the affect acutely. Whilst few would question that Britain is a democracy, it has been criticised for its lack of democratic vitality. Its citizens have been described as ‘noisy spectators’ rather than active participants, and its politicians and government accused of retreating into a ‘bunker mentality’. These problems of political engagement are not unique to the UK, but are all the more significant given the UK’s position as a world-class progressive democracy.
The disengagement of British citizens from the formal political process has been at its most conspicuous at local, national and European elections. At the 2001 general election, the overall turnout was 59% – the lowest turnout since 1918. In 2005, overall turnout rose to 61%, but amongst the youngest voters it was down from 39% in 2001 to 37% – suggesting the potential for a sustained depression in political awareness and participation.
Disengagement from the electoral process is not simply the product of swathes of the electorate deciding that they have not been convinced by the election campaigns or that they are too preoccupied to turn up at the polls. A significant factor behind poor turnouts is the absence of engagement opportunities between elections. Whether the problem is viewed from the root up or the top down, the damage to the credibility of the UK polity is clear. It is not, however, unassailable.
The Hansard Society and Electoral Commission have conducted an ‘Audit of Political Engagement’ on an annual basis since 2003. In the 2006 Audit, 56% of people said that they were very or fairly interested in political engagement – an improvement on recent years. Eighty per cent of political activists [those defined as having been involved in at least three political acts – excluding voting – over the course of the previous three years] stated that they were ‘absolutely certain’ to vote compared with 50% of non-activists. This would suggest that the more often people get involved in politics between elections, the more likely they are to participate in elections.
Our broader research demonstrates that the public is interested in a more meaningful and sustained interaction with political institutions, and that this aspiration is reciprocated by Parliament and government at a central and local level. On the government-side for example, there has been a range of initiatives launched since 1997 to address falling political engagement. In 2002 Citizenship Education was introduced as a statutory requirement in English and Welsh schools, and in 2005 the ‘Together We Can’ initiative was launched to coordinate public engagement initiatives across central government. Pilots and policies like these have been high-profile and designed to be sustained over the long-term.
Questions remain, however, about ways of balancing the expectations and requirements of the government and citizens in a society that is shifting under global pressures and significant demographic change. Is it possible to improve people’s understanding of issues and priorities whilst ensuring that the concerns of the people are heard and acted upon? Are there emerging methods and structures that can enhance the relationship between the people, elected representatives and the institutions efficiently, effectively and sustainably?
