Voting for a healthier democracy

Participation in democracy through voting is perhaps the purest expression of democratic citizenship.  But when only one in three citizens vote at European Parliament elections, it is right to feel concerned about democracy in the UK.  These figures cannot simply be explained by the supposed anti-European feelings of the electorate.  Voting figures for local elections throughout the UK show a marked similarity to those for European Parliament elections.  And although participation in Westminster elections is still more than twice that in local or European Parliament elections, the numbers are declining.  A healthy democracy needs the participation of its citizens.  There can be little doubt that a proper understanding of these voting patterns and a practical set of ideas to revive participation should be a priority for every democratic institution - local, national or European.

Dissatisfaction

Countless articles and research papers have been written about the increasing disaffection of citizens with all levels of government.  Whether its root causes are due to an underlying satisfaction with the status quo or with the malaise of modernity will continue to exercise theorists and pundits from all corners of the political spectrum.  I shall leave it to them and turn instead to the issues of citizenship education and reform of the electoral system.

There is no statutory requirement for citizenship education in the UK.  Children leave our schools knowing virtually as much about how their democratic institutions work as they did when they entered.  And although we like to think of ourselves as the model for modern democracy, our citizens do not compare well against those in other English speaking nations.

Some might say that the absence of citizenship education is no bad thing.  After all, it could in some cases be used as a form of indoctrination or propaganda.  And given our long and deeply felt connection to political liberalism, anything that even hints at impairing a citizen’s liberty to do as he or she wishes is anathema.  Besides, it must be agreed by all that we have a lively political press in this country and surely that must more than compensate for any failure in our political education.  A lively political press is very effective at shaping and perhaps changing political attitudes, but does it really inform?  How many readers of the nation’s largest circulation paper, The Sun, would consider themselves knowledgeable about how European Union institutions function? Of course, many will have strong opinions for or against Europe.  But how many really understand, for example, the remit of our members of the European Parliament?

Information

Nor can one expect the political press to suddenly convert to the impartial distributors of institutional information.  In all seriousness, stories about the structures of institutions do not sell newspapers.

The clear evidence that we are not somehow receiving a political education through osmosis can be seen in the recent Public Attitudes towards Citizenship in the UK survey undertaken by MORI on behalf of the Institute for Citizenship and NatWest.  72% of those surveyed claimed to know just a little or less about their local council.  That figure was even higher, 83%, with respect to the European Union.  And only 28% claimed to know either a great deal or a fair amount about the way our Westminster Parliament works.  These are not figures to be proud of.

Overstated

Are the dangers of citizenship education equally overstated?  Education, in all its guises, does present a risk.  If I know basic arithmetic, I can decide for myself whether my bill has been added up correctly.  When I have learned sufficient chemistry, I can decide for myself whether it is reasonable to believe that we are suffering global warming, or, just as significant, I can make a reasonable judgment as to whether the information that others are providing sounds plausible or not.  Education does not limit individual liberty and responsibility.  It increases it.

The same is true for citizenship education.  No doubt this explains why in the report of the Advisory Group on Citizenship, Education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools, the first recommendation made is that “there must be a statutory requirement on schools to ensure that [citizenship education] is part of the entitlement of all pupils. “Citizenship education is not about political propaganda.  It is about providing the information necessary so that citizens can make their own choices, to decide for themselves who to vote for, to make up their own minds about their local council, Westminster or the European Union.

And this brings me to the link between electoral reform and citizenship education.  Reform of the electoral system is thought by many to be the single most significant means of ensuring a fairer representation in our Parliaments and, it is hoped, a reinvigorated sense of the value of democratic participation through voting.

Little or less

But if the public is already under-informed about our political system, then what will be the effect of radical change to the voting system?  According to the Institute for Citizenship survey cited above, a full 79% of those questioned knew just a little or less about proportional representation.  And a staggering 15 % claimed never to have heard of it.

If the argument above for citizenship education were at all persuasive, then no argument should be necessary for the need for a massive education campaign by the Government to accompany any change in the electoral system.  Of course, such a campaign would need to be non-partisan and inclusive.  It would need to be fully funded.  It would need to reach out to every citizen in the land, because each and every one of us should not be denied our liberty of individual choice due to ignorance of our electoral system.

In 1999 there will be three elections that will introduce differing forms of proportional representation into the UK for the first time.  In Scotland, in May, the Scottish Parliament election will use the Additional Member System.  Again in May, in Wales, the Welsh Assembly election will use the Additional Member System.  And in June, if the Government can overcome House of Lords resistance, for the first time the members of the European Parliament in England, Scotland and Wales will be elected using a closed list system of proportional representation.

Too late

If there was ever a need for a fully funded information campaign about our electoral systems, now is the time.  Six months from now will be too late.

Get the vote out!  Europe 1999 is a campaign to encourage and inform voter participation from the Institute for Citizenship.  Launched in June 1998 by The Rt Hon. Jack Straw MP and Pauline Green MEP, it consists of a series of one-day seminars, one in each of the English electoral regions, and one each in Scotland and Wales.  These seminars are aimed at decision-makers and activists from government, education, information services, trade unions, business, the media and the voluntary sector.

As well as having the new electoral system explained to delegates, an important feature of the Get the vote out! Europe 1999 seminars has been the key issue focus groups held at each event on mobilising voters, the region in Europe, business and Europe, and the media.  In these groups delegates are asked to generate action plans that they individually or collectively could take on to increase voter turnout in June 1999.

For example, on 12 October 1998, Get the vote out! Europe 1999 was held in Edinburgh.  The keynote speaker was The Rt Hon. Donald Dewar MP.  The Rt Hon. the Viscount Younger of Leckie chaired the morning session and Magnus Magnusson KBE chaired the afternoon.

Here are just three practical examples that came out of the Scottish seminar:

One of the most innovative ideas was to use existing communication channels in business to raise awareness of elections and the importance of voting, with employees, customers and suppliers.  The Institute for Citizenship is currently negotiating with four major businesses and if we can get it right, more will be encouraged to come on board.;

Representatives from local authorities offered to court local and regional media for coverage on chat shows and phone-ins.  There is clearly a need for press articles that will explain the new voting systems and, if possible, show examples of the ballot papers.  Individual delegates promised to write articles for their employee and membership newsletters.

Europe theme

For future voters, attention was drawn to the Federal Trust’s Practising Citizenship programme, which includes debates, essay writing and video production.  The Institute for Citizenship’s annual youth competition, Youth Speak Out!, joins this programme, the theme of the competition this year being Europe.  (For further information on Youth Speak Out! on Europe contact Magdalena Larsen, Institute for Citizenship, 62 Marylebone High Street, London W1M 3AF.  Tel: 0171 935 4777.  e-mail: HYPERLINK mail to: ics@citizen.org.uk.)

Get the vote out! Europe 1999 has been a success.  The challenge now is to turn commitment to action into real action!  A healthy democracy requires the participation of its citizens.  Perhaps by working together in these ways we can help raise a blush of health in our democratic society.

Source: Institute for Citizenship / NatWest Bank

Jenny Talbot is chief executive of the Institute for Citizenship