The Digital Newsroom Assignment Two: Article Two

Why Has Britain Stopped Voting?

By Richard Blackledge

Preston City Council’s recent advertisement campaign, in which a message encouraging people to vote was displayed on the back of buses, highlights the ongoing problem of low turnout in elections on both a local and national level. But what are the reasons for this increase in voter apathy? And what is being done to combat it?

In the 2005 general election, only 61% of those eligible to vote did so. The picture for local elections is even bleaker. In 2007, turnout averaged only 31.2% nationwide. The public interest in politics has also hit a new low, with Hansard Society figures released last month revealing that only 41% of people questioned had discussed politics or political news in the past two to three years.

Labour candidate Salim Desai, who is standing for the Preston Town Centre ward in the 2008 election, said that one of the main reasons for people neglecting to vote is a lack of time: “Usually it’s in the evening that they go out to vote. People come back from work, then they’ve got to have their tea, and there’s probably a bit of catching up to do on the TV too. So it’s just finding time really.”

Voter turnout can be affected by several factors, including the social or economic mix of the electorate. In areas of above average unemployment, turnout tends to be lower. These tend to be safe Labour seats.

Voter apathy could also be blamed on a long-term decline in the belief in civic duty. Turnout among older people is far higher than younger members of the electorate. This raises the possibility of a generation of non-voters.

Sam Younger, Chairman of the Electoral Commission, said: “After two historically low turnout general elections some people are now out of the habit of voting. If the first few elections adults experience are crucial in shaping their political outlook including the value of voting, then all of us with an interest in the health of our democracy need to redouble our efforts to reverse this trend before the next general election, or we risk losing that generation for good.”

A number of new schemes have been tested in an attempt to lure voters back to the polls. Postal voting is increasingly popular; at the 2005 general election, take-up of postal voting was three times higher than in 2001. However, while more people are choosing to vote in this way, 46% of voters consider it to be unsafe, as did a fifth of those who actually voted by post in 2005.

Salim Desai thinks postal voting is a positive development. He said: “I think the postal votes are really good. Voters can have them delivered just a week or so before the elections, and they can have time to sit down and think about the other candidates. It’s just so simple. You just put your cross and send it off again.”

In 2003, a pilot project in Swindon saw people casting their local election votes via interactive television, the internet and telephones. Eligible voters were given a PIN number that had to be entered in order to cast a vote. The trial resulted in a 3.6% increase in voting.

The Electoral Commission, however, is cautious about the merits of such pilot schemes. An Electoral Commission spokesman said: “We don’t think any electronic pilots should take place until we can guarantee that the system is secure. The Government ran some pilots last year and they left some questions to be answered about the security and integrity of the system, so we don’t think they should be used in this country for elections until the Government has addressed them.”

The Commission has instead concentrated its efforts on getting people to vote in the traditional way. Its campaign, promoted by the tag-line “If you want to vote, make sure nothing stops you”, is intended to remind people to register their details on the electoral roll.

An Electoral Commission spokesman said: “The campaign is in three phases; the first came to an end last week. It encouraged people to ensure that they were registered before the deadline of 5pm on April 16.

“Now we’ll go into the second and third phase which will be looking more at making sure people know exactly where their polling station is, what they need to do in order to vote and what they’re going to be confronted with when they walk into a polling station on May 1.”

The Government has promised an overhaul in the way elections are conducted in this country. Proposals announced in March included a new alternative voting system, whereby ballot papers would allow for a second preference, which would be transferred from the lowest-scoring candidate until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote. This would mean that the number of seats gained would be more proportional to the number of votes cast.

The Government are also considering opening polling stations at weekends. The possibility of compulsory voting was also raised.

Salim Desai said: “I think compulsory voting would be very dangerous, because you’re forcing people to make a decision that they’re not passionate about. We want to move away from people voting just for the sake of voting. We want people to vote because they’ve got an opinion, they want to make a difference.”

Listen to interviews with Salim Desai and Preston City Council's head of electoral services, Susan Harrison, in this audio slideshow.