Audit of Political Engagement 16

Opinions of the system of governing are at their lowest point in the 15-year Audit series – worse now than in the aftermath of the MPs’ expenses scandal

• 72% say the system of governing needs ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’ of improvement.
• The number of people who say the system needs ‘a great deal’ of improvement has risen eight points in a year, to 37%.
• Asked whether the problem is the system or the people, the largest group (38%) say ‘both’.
• Britons have more confidence in the military and judges than in politicians to act in the public interest.
• Only 25% of the public have confidence in MPs’ handling of Brexit.
• 50% say the main parties and politicians don’t care about people like them.
• 75% say the main political parties are so divided within themselves that they cannot serve the best interests of the country.
• 34% still consider themselves a ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ strong supporter of a political party.

People are pessimistic about the country’s problems and their possible solution, with sizeable numbers willing to entertain radical political changes

• Well over half the public are downbeat about the state of Britain – 56% think Britain is in decline, 63% think Britain’s system of government is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful, and 66% think most big issues facing the country today don’t have clear solutions.
• 54% say Britain needs a strong leader who is willing to break the rules.
• The public are evenly split between those who prefer politicians who make compromises with people they disagree with (48%) and those who prefer politicians who stick to their positions (45%). 66% think politicians should be able to say what’s on their mind regardless of what anyone else thinks about their views.
• 42% think many of the country’s problems could be dealt with more effectively if the government didn’t have to worry so much about votes in Parliament.
• Marginally more people prefer experienced political parties and leaders who have been in power before (47%) to those with radical ideas for change who haven’t been in power before (43%).
• 55% still think that big questions should be put to the public in referendums more often than today.

Core indicators of political engagement remain stable but, beneath the surface, the strongest feelings of powerlessness and disengagement are intensifying

• Core indicators of certainty to vote, and interest in and knowledge of politics, remain stable at average or above-average levels.
• The number who ‘strongly disagree’ that political involvement can change the way the UK is run (18%) has hit a 15-year high.
• Of 13 political activities, the number of people saying they would be prepared to do ‘none’ is up 10 points in a year to 22%.
• 47% feel they have no influence at all over national decision-making – a new high for the Audit series.
• 32% say they do not want to be involved ‘at all’ in local decision-making, a rise of 10 points in a year.
• Compared to last year, more people say that they are not at all interested in politics and know nothing about it.
• 30% of people say they never discuss government and politics.
• 53% say they have not done any form of online political activity in the last year.
• 61% say they would be certain to vote in an immediate general election.

1. Opinions of the system of governing
2. Appetite for radical political changes
3. Feelings of powerlessness and disengagement
4. Methodology and downloads: demographic breakdown, SPSS datasets, tables

This measure has risen by five points in the last year and now stands at its highest level in the Audit series, up by 12 points since the first Audit in 2004. The previous high point was in Audit 7, published in 2010 in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the MPs’ expenses scandal, when the figure reached 69%.

This measure stands 19 points higher than it did in the first Audit, published in 2004, and 10 points higher than it did in Audit 7, published in 2010 after the MPs’ expenses scandal.

A larger group says the problem is the people (29%) than the system (15%). Only 7% think both the system and the people work well.

Civil servants, television broadcasters and trade unions command greater public confidence than do politicians. Those who voted ‘remain’ in the EU referendum are more likely than those who voted ‘leave’ to have confidence in judges, civil servants and Peers in the House of Lords. However, there is no difference in the confidence levels of ‘remainers’ and ‘leavers’ about the elected elements of Britain’s political system – the government, MPs and political parties.

The public have most confidence in judges (49%) and civil servants (40%) when it comes to handling Brexit. But only one in five people (20%) have confidence in political parties’ handling of the issue.

And 75% say the main political parties are so divided within themselves that they cannot serve the best interests of the country. Nevertheless, 43% of young people (18-24s) say they have confidence in the political parties to act in the public’s best interest, over ten points higher than in any other age group.

This measure varies notably by socio-economic group. 45% of those in the AB group say that they are a ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ strong supporter of a party, while 78% in the C2 group and 72% in the DE group say that they are a supporter of a party only weakly or not at all.

Two-thirds of the public (66%) think our politicians should be able to say what’s on their minds, regardless of what anyone else thinks about their views. The public are evenly split between those who prefer politicians who make compromises with people they disagree with (48%) and those who prefer politicians who stick to their positions (45%).

But 50% think it would be risky to give the government more power to deal directly with these problems.

This is slightly down from last year’s 58%. Support for greater use of this form of decision-making has continued to decline from the high of 76% recorded before the 2016 EU membership referendum.

This Audit generally dispels the notion that the public are apathetic about politics. People’s certainty to vote, and their interest in and knowledge of politics, have been broadly stable since Audit 13, and this year’s results are again at the higher end of the spectrum. The public’s sense of political efficacy – the extent to which they believe becoming politically involved can change things – has remained broadly stable over the life of the Audit. But the measure of satisfaction with the system of governing is on a long-term downward trend.

This measure, of the number of people who feel most powerless, has jumped 6 points in a year to 18%, the highest level in the history of the Audit. Only three in ten people feel that getting involved in politics really can change the way the UK is run.

At the local level, the number of those feeling they have no influence at all (42%) is also an Audit record. At the national and local levels, the numbers of those feeling they have no influence at all have jumped by seven and nine points in a year, respectively. This intensification of the strongest feelings of powerlessness has occurred even as the overall measures of people’s sense of influence, which include those who feel less strongly, have declined only slightly since last year.

With respect to national decision-making, the number saying they do not want to be involved ‘at all’ is up by nine points in a year, to 35%. These are the highest levels of disengagement measured on these indicators in the Audit series. The numbers saying that they would like to be ‘fairly involved’ in decision-making have declined by nine points for the local level and four for the national; both are among the weakest results for these indicators since these questions were first asked in Audit 6, published in 2009.

Nearly a third of people (32%) say they discuss government and politics at least a few times a week, with 38% saying they do so less frequently. Only one in ten say they discuss government and politics nearly every day. ‘Strong’ or ‘fairly strong’ supporters of a political party are over twice as likely to discuss government and politics at least a few times a week as those who support a party only weakly or not at all.

Among those who have done something political online in the last year, the most popular activities are watching politically-related video content (28%) and creating or signing e-petitions (28%). People are more likely to engage in online political activity if they are also more interested in politics, even controlling for age.

This core indicator has remained fairly stable in recent years and remains high in the context of the Audit series, notwithstanding the public’s intensifying feelings of powerlessness and dissatisfaction with the system of governing. 47% of 18-24s and 45% of 25-34s say they would be certain to vote, still lower than in older age groups.

Methodology:

• Each Audit report presents the findings from a face-to-face public opinion survey carried out on a representative quota sample of adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. This year’s survey was conducted between 30 November and 12 December 2018 by Ipsos MORI.

Available downloads:

• Full report (PDF), including the demographic breakdown, methodology, and survey tables.
• Methodology (PDF)
• Survey tables (PDF).
• Demographic breakdown (PDF).
• Datasets (SPSS).