Engagement in formal politics
Over the last decade, voter turnout at elections and membership of political parties has fallen, and there has been a reduction in traditional affiliations with political movements and parties.Trust in government and in parliament is low and the majority of the population are reported to doubt that being involved in formal politics makes a difference.
What are the implications?
- As political parties are weakened, single issue politics and campaigns have become more powerful
- As a response to falling engagement in formal politics, politicians are trying to increase the engagement of the public in decision-making in order to reconnect people with politics
- As the mandate of elected politicians weakens, the power of the media to influence policy development is growing
Moving forward
ICT has a powerful role to play in single-issue campaigns.
- To what extent does your organisation currently market its campaigns through the internet?
- Can your organisation reach new audiences and harness the power of the public through ICT?
- Can you tap into the expertise of your users to build new knowledge communities, and host and moderate online peer-to-peer services?
As engagement in formal politics falls, individuals are looking to VCOs and other civil society organisations as a conduit for their views and a way to express their political identities.
- Can your organisation mobilise the public to campaign for change?
Want to know more?
Where have all the voters gone?
Published by: MORI - a large research company with a specialism in public affairs
Date: 2004
Format: Web
What is it? Analysis of statistics on public engagement, examining public attitudes to voting and how these are linked to other measures of political engagement.
How useful is this? A useful overview of engagement in formal politics with a number of statistics. Includes aspects on "good causes activism" and the implications of low voter turnout.
Other comments:
Published by: Hansard Society – an educational charity promoting parliamentary democracy and Electoral Commission – an independent body set up by Parliament to ensure public confidence in the democratic system.
Date: 2007
Format: PDF (762 KB)
What is it? A detailed analysis of statistics on political engagement focusing on knowledge, participation and satisfaction.
How useful is this? Focuses almost entirely on formal political engagement including barriers to greater participation and what people are prepared to do to be involved in politics. Paragraphs 4.19 and 4.20 consider the role of single issue activism.
Other comments: Based on the 2007 version of the ‘Political Engagement Poll’ used in ‘Where have all the voters gone’.
An audit of political engagement 3
Published by: The Hansard Society
Date: 2006
Format: PDF
What is it? A report demonstrating the link between political and social exclusion.
How useful is this? The report finds large differences between social groups in levels of political knowledge, interest and activism. They find a disengaged minority, of largely low-income citizens, who are also unlikely to become involved in the new opportunities for new direct participation.
Other comments:
Power to the people. The report of Power: an independent inquiry into Britain's democracy
Published by: The Power Commission – an independent body established and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Date: 2006
Format: Full document PDF (1.6MB)
What is it? A detailed analysis of disengagement in formal politics in the UK, with proposals and recommendations to increase and deepen political participation.
How useful is this? Chapter 1 contrasts engagement in community work with the decline in involvement in formal politics to dispel ‘the myth of apathy’. Chapter 2 challenges other popular reasons for disengagement whilst Chapter 3 offers alternative reasons. The rise of new citizens and the appropriateness of the current political system are discussed in Chapter 4. The remainder of the enquiry suggests ways to increase political participation by giving more direct influence.
Other comments:
A Citizen's Duty: Voter inequality and the case for compulsory turnout
Published by: IPPR
Date: 2006
Format: PDF
What is it? This report looks at the recent decline in voter turnout by analysing trends in different groups of society. It finds that there has been a rise in turnout inequality.
How useful is this? An interesting report tackling a relatively neglected issue. The report explores who does and does not vote before discussing reasons for voter inequality. It suggests solutions to the problems and discusses the role of compulsory voting using evidence from a range of countries.
Other comments:
Recent discussion
How will this affect your organisation? Have you considered it during your strategic planning? Can you share any interesting relevant links?Join the discussion!
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Dhara
The recent DCLG White Paper Communities in Control has a real focus on how to get people engaged and active in their communities. (an NCVO briefing is also available)Whilst the government does recognise the value of communities of interest in the white paper, there is without a doubt a focus on geographically based communities. The white paper builds on the work of Sherry Arnstein and discusses a ‘ladder’ or ‘spectrum’ of opportunities for community engagement as, from individual acts of good neighbourliness through to taking on formal civic responsibility.
This raises many questions about the relationship between participative and representative democracy. NCVO, with the LGA, have recently published a collection of essays looking at the nature of this relationship. Votes and Voices. These essays bring together a wide range of views and perspectives on local democracy from across local government, the voluntary sector and academia. It is important to understand and acknowledge the value of participation and engagement in and of itself – it might not always lead to civic engagement but getting involved and participating can and does strengthen civil society. We plan to use these essays to help us to better understand the relationship between participation and representation and to inform our work in this area as we move forward.