A Participation Crisis?

Question 1

+ Declining turnout in general elections

Answer 1

+ Turnout in 1950 84%

+ Dipped to a low of 59% in 2001

+ Byelections even worse - Manchester Central by election in 2012 only 18.6%

Question 2

+ Youth disengagement

Answer 2

+ Around 45% of 18-34 year olds don’t vote

+ Old people vote much more

Question 3

+ Local election turnout

Answer 3

+ Dipped to only 31% turnout in 2012

Question 4

+ Party membership

Answer 4

+ Only 0.8% of the electorate are party members compared to 4.12% in 1980

+ In 2013 conservative membership was at its lowest in 70 years despite electoral success

+ Shortages of candidates

+ Effects on party finance

Question 5

+ Partisan Dealignment

Answer 5

+ 2001 less than 5% of people felt a close association with a party

+ Vast majority of people don’t trust politicians, nor can they name and identify cabinet members

+ 2012 half of citizens don’t engage in politics other than voting

Question 6

• More opportunities to vote

Answer 6

• Devolution
• Mayors and police commissioners
• Referenda
• Consistent rise since 2001 low

Question 7

• Increased membership in smaller parties

Answer 7

• SNP more than doubled its membership in 2015

- Scottish Greens more than tripled in 2014

Question 8

• Labour revival

Answer 8

• In the run up to the 2015 Leadership election, membership reached 610,000
• Now claims to be largest party in Europe

Question 9

• Pressure Groups

Answer 9

• Rise in number, now in the tens of thousands
• Rise in membership, RSPB has over 1.5 million members. Somewhere between 25 and 50% of the population belong to one.
• Rise in intensity and scale of work, 1-2 million marched against Iraq

Question 10

• E-democracy

Answer 10

• Vast numbers of people participating online
• 4.1 million people signed a petition for a second eu referendum
• Social networking, hactivism and other recent developments