UK Data Archive Study Number 6872: Audit of Political Engagement 8, 2010 AUDIT OF POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT 8 Audit of of Political Political Audit of Political Engagement 2008 8 The 5th Report Engagement 8 The 2011 Report with a special focus on the Constitution with a focus on coalition politics, The 2011 Report civic involvement and the Big Society with a focus on coalition politics, civic involvement and the Big Society The Audit of Political Engagement is the only annual health check on our democratic system. Now in its eighth year, each Audit report measures the ‘political pulse’ of the nation, providing a unique benchmark to gauge public opinion across Great Britain with regard to politics and the political process. Following the enormous political changes witnessed in 2010, Audit 8 focuses on two key areas of interest. It explores public attitudes to civic and political engagement and participation in the context of the government’s ‘Big Society’ focus on community volunteering, devolved decision-making and localism. Secondly, it looks at public attitudes to the new political and constitutional landscape that followed the inconclusive general election result and particularly the impact on perceptions of Parliament and attitudes to the voting system in advance of the 2011 referendum. This report is an invaluable source of information and debate for all those who are concerned with the health of our democratic system. The Hansard Society is the UK’s leading independent, non-partisan political research and education charity. THE 2011 REPORT We aim to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public involvement in politics. www.hansardsociety.org.uk ISBN: 978 0900432 79 8 Audit of Political Hansard Society The Hansard Society is the UK's leading independent, non-partisan political research and education charity. We aim to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public Engagement 2008 involvement in politics. Co-Presidents: Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, The 5th Report Rt Hon the Baroness Hayman, Lord Speaker. a special focus on the Constitution Vice Presidents: Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP. Council: Rt Hon Peter Riddell (Chair), Andrew Lansley CBE MP (Vice Chair), Lord Puttnam CBE (Vice Chair), Lord Tyler (Vice Chair), Roshana Arasaratnam (Hon Treasurer), Lord Sharkey (Asst Hon Treasurer), Lord Allan, Laurence Bard, Dianne Bevan, Edward Bickham, Rob Clements, Emma-Jane Cross, Mark D’Arcy, Paul Evans, Prof Ivor Gaber, Oonagh Gay, Gavin Grant, Andy Hamflett, Prof Robert Hazell, Amelia Knott, Peter Knowles, Dr Sheena McDonald, Dr Joyce McMillan, Dr Floyd Millen, Austin Mitchell MP, Prof Lord Norton, Matthew Seward, Gerald Shamash, Bill Thomson, Graeme Trayner. The Hansard Society has four main programmes of work across the UK: Citizenship Education, Parliament and Government, Digital Democracy and Study and Scholars. The Hansard Society also produces the well-established academic quarterly Parliamentary Affairs in association with Oxford University Press. 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Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scotland Office FTI Consulting Scottish Enterprise For more information about other Hansard Society publications visit our House of Commons Scottish Parliament website at www.hansardsociety.org.uk House of Lords UK Office of the European Parliament Cover design by Ann Watson-Thomas at www.annexdesign.co.uk Law Society of Scotland Woodnewton Associates Sub-editing by Virginia Gibbons Design & layout by Impress Print Services Printed and bound in Great Britain by Impress Print Services Cover images: PA For further information visit our website at www.hansardsociety.org.uk Audit of Political Engagement 8 The 2011 Report with a focus on coalition politics, civic involvement and the Big Society Hansard Society Contents Table of Figures iii Preface 1 Executive summary 3 1. About this report 7 2. The political context 11 3. The complexity of public attitudes 19 A rising rate of knowledge and interest Familiarity and favourability A growing sense of indifference? Social inequality and engagement Satisfaction and voting intentions 4. Engagement in a new political and constitutional landscape 27 The logic of ‘compromise’ versus the emotion of ‘betrayal’ Parliament: ‘working for you and me?’ Representativeness: local versus national tensions Electing MPs: a case for change? 5. Civic engagement: barriers and opportunities 41 Civic versus political engagement: differentiating the local from the national Volunteering: civic versus political Public service involvement: building the Big Society? Barriers and incentives to engagement Priorities for Big Society engagement? 6. The engagement indicators and survey results 59 A. Knowledge and interest Perceived knowledge of politics Perceived knowledge of Parliament Name of MP Interest in politics B. Action and participation 66 Propensity to vote Discussing politics Political and civic activities i C. Civic and political involvement 71 Knowledge of how things work locally Interest in how things work locally Perceived efficacy of local involvement Views on how things work in local area Desire for involvement – locally and nationally Willingness to engage in voluntary activities Drivers for community involvement D. Efficacy and satisfaction 82 Perceived political efficacy Present system of governing Satisfaction with Parliament Perceptions of Parliament The impact of Parliament and other institutions on people’s lives 7. Demographic and sub-group differences 91 A. Gender B. Age C. Social class D. Ethnicity E. Scotland and Wales F. Marginal seats 8. Audit series indicator graphs 103 Appendices 105 A. Quantitative survey methodology B. Audit of Political Engagement (APE) Poll topline findings C. Engagement profiles D. Qualitative research methodology E. Qualitative research discussion guides Acknowledgements This report was produced by Dr Ruth Fox, Matt Korris and Rachel Heydecker with assistance from Virginia Gibbons. The Hansard Society is grateful to the House of Commons and the Cabinet Office for supporting the Audit project. We thank Professor Gerry Stoker (Professor of Politics and Governance, University of Southampton) and Karen Cave (Senior Research Officer, Communities Analysis Division, Department for Communities and Local Government) for their advice. We would also like to thank Helen Cleary, Graham Keilloh, Tom Mludzinski and Dr Roger Mortimore of Ipsos MORI and Mark Gill and James Humphreys of Woodnewton Associates for their assistance with this report. Finally, our thanks to Ann Watson-Thomas for the front cover design. ii Table of Figures Figure 1: Parliament: working for you and me 30 Figure 2: The role of Parliament 31 Figure 3: Characteristics of an MP 34 Figure 4: Involvement in decision-making 43 Figure 5: Local involvement 44 Figure 6: Profiles of civic and political engagement 51 Figure 7: Current involvement and future willingness 58 Figure 8: Perceived knowledge of politics 59 Figure 9: Perceived knowledge of politics – demographic differences 60 Figure 10: Perceived knowledge of Parliament 61 Figure 11: Knowledge of politics vs. knowledge of Parliament 62 Figure 12: Identifying the Member of Parliament 63 Figure 13: Interest in politics 64 Figure 14: Interest in politics – demographic differences 65 Figure 15: Propensity to vote – demographic differences 66 Figure 16: Discussing politics – demographic differences 68 Figure 17: Political and civic activities – Audit series timeline 69 Figure 18: Political and civic activities – gender averages across the series 71 Figure 19: Perceived knowledge of how things work locally – demographic differences 72 Figure 20: Interest in how things work locally – demographic differences 74 Figure 21: Satisfaction