Parties have uphill job to convince voters on political reform, says Hansard Society - April 16, 2010
Research shows manifesto commitments don't always reflect what public say they want
Research carried out by the Hansard Society over the past seven years for the annual Audit of Political Engagement demonstrates that public attitudes to politics and political engagement are complex, contradictory and rarely uniform. While there is strong agreement that the political system is in need of reform, there is little consensus on what shape that reform should take.
The Audit series shows that the public often fail to turn good intentions into positive action when it comes to politics:
- 76% of the public consider voting a civic duty but only 54% say they will vote at the election (Audit 7, page 76).
- 55% say they do not wish to be involved in national decision-making and 50% don't want to be involved in local decision-making (Audit 6, page 36)
- 40% of those who, in theory, would like to be involved, but in practice, are not, cite lack of time as the main reason (Audit 6, page 38)
- 37% say that ‘when people like me get involved in politics they really can change the way the country is run' (Audit 7, page 85)
All of the political parties' manifestos contain commitments to give the public a greater say in the political process, such as a new petitions system for the Commons. While petitions are by far the most popular form of political participation - 40% have signed a petition (Audit 7, page 81) - our research shows that social class has more of an impact on political engagement levels than any other factor - 28% of ABs are politically active compared to 5% of DEs (Audit 7, page 82). The Audit research highlights the need for checks and balances in any proposed system of public engagement to guard against skewing decisions towards the interests of any particular class or group.
The Audit series demonstrates that there is no clear public consensus on which constitutional issues are most urgently in need of change - parties' manifesto proposals for reform could have a mixed reaction as:
- 69% of the public believe the system of governing Great Britain could be improved ‘quite a lot' or ‘a great deal' (Audit 7, page 27)
- 67% are satisfied with having a minimum voting age of 18 for a general election (Audit 5, page 28)
- 24% want reform of how political parties are funded (Audit 5, page 31)
- Only 11% have discussed reform of the House of Commons in the last year (Audit 7, page 80)
- Only 19% have discussed the electoral system in the last year (Audit 7, page 80)
- Despite the MPs' expenses scandal, only 5% of the public have discussed the idea of recall of MPs (Audit 7, page 80).
Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament & Government programme, commented: ‘Our Audit series findings demonstrate just what a tough job the parties are facing when it comes to satisfying public demand for political and democratic reform. Public attitudes to politics and political engagement are complex, contradictory and rarely uniform There is no silver bullet to restore faith and confidence in politics, Parliament and politicians.'
For further information, contact Virginia Gibbons, Head of Communications at the Hansard Society on 020 7438 1225, 07812 765 552 or mediaprog@hansard.lse.ac.uk
Editor's Notes
- The Hansard Society is the UK's leading independent, non-partisan political research and education charity. We aim to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public involvement in politics.
- The annual Audit of Political Engagement tracks levels of public interest, knowledge, participation and satisfaction with the political process. The information in the Audits is based on a yearly Political Engagement Poll undertaken by Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute on behalf of the Hansard Society. The Audits are available to download: