https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/22584/A-Level/Government-and-Politics/Is-the-UK-suffering-
from-a-participation-crisis/
1. Evaluate the view that the UK is facing a ‘participation crisis’.
Within the UK it can be seen that there is somewhat a participation crisis.This comes as a result
of low turnouts in recent elections,the idea of ‘hapathy’ lowering participation and the falling
numbers of political party membership.However it can be seen that this crisis is only partially
there due to other forms of participation such as pressure groups and referendums becoming
much more taken part in by the wider public.Overall showing a partial crisis in democracy.
Firstly, one area in which the UK can be seen as facing a ‘participation crisis’ is in regards to
voter turnout in recent elections.Throughout the 1940’-1970’s general elections never fell below
70% turnout, however this has taken a dramatic shift in recent years, bottoming out at 59% in
the 2001 election and sitting around 60% since.This can show a participation crisis due to the
fact that low turnout in these elections shows voter dissolution as well as damaging a
government's mandate to lead as it is only decided on by a small proportion of the
population.On top of this, smaller elections have even lower turnouts, with local council
elections rarely topping 30%, making politics seem unfair as parties can win in these areas with
much smaller proportions of the vote than they should have.On the other hand, it can be seen
that this issue is somewhat going away, with voting numbers rising each year since 2001, for
example in 2017 there was 69% who turned out, this shows that levels are somewhat returning
since 2001, and recent economic issues imply this will continue as during times of recession
voting numbers are always higher due to public issues with the incumbent government as it is
not a time of ‘Happathy’ (voters less likely to vote due to economic conditions).Overall it can be
seen that the UK is not facing a participation in election turnouts due to their steady rise once
again in recent years showing a reversal of the crisis, however issues around smaller local
elections still somewhat remain.
from-a-participation-crisis/
1. Evaluate the view that the UK is facing a ‘participation crisis’.
Within the UK it can be seen that there is somewhat a participation crisis.This comes as a result
of low turnouts in recent elections,the idea of ‘hapathy’ lowering participation and the falling
numbers of political party membership.However it can be seen that this crisis is only partially
there due to other forms of participation such as pressure groups and referendums becoming
much more taken part in by the wider public.Overall showing a partial crisis in democracy.
Firstly, one area in which the UK can be seen as facing a ‘participation crisis’ is in regards to
voter turnout in recent elections.Throughout the 1940’-1970’s general elections never fell below
70% turnout, however this has taken a dramatic shift in recent years, bottoming out at 59% in
the 2001 election and sitting around 60% since.This can show a participation crisis due to the
fact that low turnout in these elections shows voter dissolution as well as damaging a
government's mandate to lead as it is only decided on by a small proportion of the
population.On top of this, smaller elections have even lower turnouts, with local council
elections rarely topping 30%, making politics seem unfair as parties can win in these areas with
much smaller proportions of the vote than they should have.On the other hand, it can be seen
that this issue is somewhat going away, with voting numbers rising each year since 2001, for
example in 2017 there was 69% who turned out, this shows that levels are somewhat returning
since 2001, and recent economic issues imply this will continue as during times of recession
voting numbers are always higher due to public issues with the incumbent government as it is
not a time of ‘Happathy’ (voters less likely to vote due to economic conditions).Overall it can be
seen that the UK is not facing a participation in election turnouts due to their steady rise once
again in recent years showing a reversal of the crisis, however issues around smaller local
elections still somewhat remain.
