« Welcoming the 'Real' Constitutional Renewal Bill | Main | Voices for reform »
April 01, 2009
The public perception of politics and politicians
This morning, Malcolm Clark and I attended the Hansard’s Society Audit of Political Engagement in Parliament. The panel regaled us on the findings of their 2009 Report (pdf) in a series of entertaining talks, with Jo Swinson standing out as particularly impressive in terms of engaging with and addressing the issues raised. This was hailed as an ideal day for the event to be held, in the light of the protests going on in London, reflecting people’s desire to express their views publicly. But was this reflected in the Society’s findings on the levels of political engagement? Given the number of politically significant events which occurred during 2008, it would not have been unreasonable to expect the public generally to have engaged more in political discussion than in previous years. However, whilst the figures corresponding to knowledge and interest were found to have increased, this was marginal and certainly not as much as one may have hoped. The point was raised that this number may not create an entirely accurate impression, as people may not realise that they are engaging in political discussion when casually discussing somewhat more indirect matters such as the transport system.
Voting continues to rank most highly in the public’s view of what constitutes good citizenship. However, there was a clear discrepancy between the percentage of the population who held this view and the number who said that they were certain to vote. This presents a challenge to those seeking to increase voter turn-out, as whilst people recognise the importance of voting there is a distinction between their good intentions and the active fulfilment of these.
The Report also demonstrated the limitations of the alleged “Obama effect”, which was seen most prominently in the increase in political engagement in BME communities. This appears to be an optimistic step, but the figures remain lower than those relating to the activities of their white counterparts. Overall, although this was not the most optimistic outcome, it is important to be aware of the reality of the situation if anything is to be done to improve matters. The need for greater education, transparency and accessibility was highlighted, and if active steps are taken in the direction discussed, next year’s report should be more positive for those seeking to promote more widespread political engagement.
Posted by lauramacphee on April 01, 2009
