The Problem of Low Voter Turnout in the United Kingdom - Article Example

These days, election campaigns around the world are costing so much money and time to plan, prepare, and execute. But instead of the voter turnout going upwards, the global trends shows a decrease in voter turnout in most established democratic countries. Between 1945 and 1990, the overall participation in competitive political elections around the world rose steadily from 61 percent of the voting age population to around 68 percent (IDEA 2005; Franklin 2004). But from the 1990’s, the average voter turnout around the world dipped back to 64 percent, perhaps owing to the arrival of a swarm of competitive elections in newly democratizing countries. It is of interest to note that the world’s turnout figures expressed as a percentage of the registered voters maintained constancy from the 1940’s through to 1980’s, but then plunged more abruptly in the 1990’s. This therefore means that the drop in election participation rate of the actual registered voters around the world has been more pronounced than the participation rate of eligible voters. In a layman’s language, voter turnout is the proportion of the eligible voters who actually cast their votes or ballots during an election. Despite the huge resources and manpower that are put into arranging political elections, the voter turnout rate has been dwindling by the day. This trend is often considered as undesirable by many policy makers. The low voter turnout rate in many countries has been attributed to an array of demographic, economic, technological, institutional, and cultural factors affecting the voters. It is also thought to be caused by indifference, disenchantment, or contentment among the voters (Franklin 2004). Despite the figures that I have indicated above, it should be noted that different nations around the world have varying average voter turnout rates. For example, about 70 percent of the eligible population in the United States registered to vote. However, only 56.7 percent of the eligible voters participated in the presidential elections in 2004 (IDEA 2005). In other countries such as Malta and Australia where voting has been made compulsory by Law, participation exceeds 95 percent. Voter Turnout in the United Kingdom United Kingdom is renowned for its appetite in following democratic principles of governance. The country has three major political outfits namely; Labour party, Liberal Democrats, and the Conservative party. Being a democratic country, one would expect that the voter turnout rate is higher than in many other nations that are still nurturing their democracies. But this is not the case. To give validity to my argument, let me compare the UK with its closest neighbor, the Republic of Ireland. The UK participated in nine elections from 1951 to 1982, whilst the Republic of Ireland has had 10 general elections. While voter turnout rate in the Republic of Ireland had risen by 2.1 percent during that time, it dropped by about 4.5 percent over the same period in the UK (Bogdanor & Butler 1983:184). The low voter turnout witnessed in the UK has caused many to worry since it is seen as a threat to the democratic principles which have taken so much and so long to nurture. To sustain a healthy representative democracy in the UK, the strength of enthusiasm to engage in the democratic processes is vital (Low voter Turnout 2006). Voter turnout stood at 82 percent in 1950 in the UK. It stood at 72 percent in 1983. Going forward, voter turnout slightly improved during the 1987 and 1992 general elections due to the closeness of the battle between Labour and Conservative candidates. But the last two general elections of 2001 and 2006 have witnessed a sharp reduction in voter turnout, with 2001 registering only 59.3 percent (Franklin 2004). There are several causes that have necessitated this downward trend in the UK. Below, I briefly analyze some of the causes. Causes of Low Voter Turnout in the United Kingdom There are many causes of low voter turnout in the UK. Due to limited space, I will cluster the causes into groups consisting of socioeconomic factors, institutional factors, hereditary factors, and political factors. Socioeconomic factors Some sections of society are more likely to vote in the UK than others. Many registered voters, especially among the young adults don’t develop a habit of voting. Many scholars would concur that turnout is a habitual behavior which can easily be learned or unlearned. What we lack in UK is a framework to enable the young voters to learn and identify the voting behavior so that they can participate in elections (Farrell & Schmitt-Beck 2008). Education, though not a strong socioeconomic factor to consider in UK, is also thought to influence voter turnout. Educated people are more likely to vote. Another factor is income levels, where wealthier people are more likely to vote. Though gender, race, and ethnicity factors have little effect in western democracies, they are also thought to contribute to low voter turnout. Age has also been cited as a factor, where more elderly people are likely to participate in voting than younger people. Hereditary factors Available evidence points out to the fact that genetic disposition can affect voter turnout, not only in the UK but also in the whole world. Behaviors as well as genes are inherited from parents. If the parents had any interest in voting, this would be automatically reflected in the siblings. This proposition partly explains why voting emerge to be habitual (Franklin 2004). Political factors Precisely put, political factors are largely to blame for the UK low voter turnout. Globally, there has been an established link between the competitiveness of electoral politics and voter turnout (IDEA 2006). In the UK the general elections of 1987 and 1992 recorded a high voter turnout because they were very competitive. But other political elections lack the glitter and competitiveness that spurs high voter turnout. In 2001 and 2006 general elections, Mr. Tony Blair, the Labour candidate for premiership was too powerful for the other candidates. As such, the elections lacked in competitiveness thus the low voter turn out (Hough & Jeffery 2006). Institutional factors These factors have a very momentous impact on voter turnout. They factors deal with rules and laws governing the conduction of an election. In the UK, voting is not compulsory as it is in Australia. The result is that while voter turnout in Australia is more than 95 percent, the UK can only manage less than 60 percent (IDEA 2006). In the UK, voting is also not made easier through allowing people greater access to the ballots. There have been noted occurrences of separate registration processes, which are known to suppress voter turnout. Remedies to address the problem Working on the economic/ social mix of the electorate It is an open-held secret that Majority of the British voters feels indifferent, disenchanted, and disengaged from conventional politics both at the local and national level (Farrell & Schmitt 2008). This is because successive governments have failed to address their plight, leaving them at the periphery of mainstream politics. In many British areas of above average unemployment, low voter turnout is recorded. In these areas, there are higher rates of social and economic inactivity and diminishing healthcare. Although these areas traditionally vote for the Labour Party, the party struggled to get the voters out to vote in 2001 (Lower voter turnout 2006). If the problem of low voter turnout is to be addressed in the UK, the political class must address the social and economic woes that continue to affect this class of voters. Employment levels need to be raised and adequate healthcare provided. The politicians have to work on modalities of making the voters feel that they are part and parcel of the political system of the day and that their interests are being looked into (Farrell & Schmitt 2008). Perceived importance of the election At a national level, voter turnout tend to be strongest when the election is deemed to have special political significance or when the country’s political problems and issues are of adequate salience to draw out voters of all walks of life (Lower voter turnout 2006; Hough & Jeffery 2006). An example is the recently concluded US general election, which saw Barrack Obama triumph over John McCain. But in the UK, general electoral elections fail to trigger the intensity required to get voters out to vote. Perhaps this is a political question which need political answers as major political parties in the UK have failed to produce strong candidates to compete in the elections. In instances where a single party has produced a strong candidate, the other political parties come up with very weak candidates who can barely stand a chance of winning. Many British voters perceive that their votes will have no influence over the final tally when an election is more or less perceived as a foregone conclusion. As such, they don’t come out to vote. This is evidenced in the 2001 when Tony Blair, who was the incumbent premier, was squaring it out with other little known contenders. The election recorded the lowest voter turnout rate in the UK for many years, with only 59.3 percent of the registered voters casting their votes (Lower voter turnout 2006). As such, major British political parties need to undertake their homework well in choosing contenders for the general elections. Only those contenders who are popular and have a remarkable record in delivering service to the citizens need to be considered. The elections have to be made more competitive to elicit a larger voter turnout (Farrell & Schmitt 2008). Impact of the political campaigns British voters continue to be exposed to stage-managed political overtures during the campaign period which simply puts the voters off the political processes. Politicians would pay huge sums of money to news channels to air their campaign material, which is often filled with falsehoods (Lower voter turnout 2006). Many politicians are caught on air 24-7 telling the electorate about the promises they will deliver to them once they are elected into office. This doesn’t come to pass even if they are elected, thus putting off many voters. Political players must realize that election time is a crucial moment in the political cycle of the nation, where voters have the real political power on their hands. The politicians should let the voters exercise that discretion instead of poisoning their minds through mindless media campaigns which end up turning more voters against voting. The government should also come up with a legal framework to control disastrous media campaigns (Hough & Jeffery 2006). Partisan realignment It is a sad fact to note that the popularity of major British political parties continue to decline instead of gaining. The battered outlook of the Labour party after the exit of former Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, is an important indicator. Without doubt, the probability that a voter will turn out to vote in an election diminishes with the weakening of the political parties. In the UK, the strength of ideological and emotional loyalty to major political parties is becoming more diluted by the day. This has had a negative impact on voter turnout levels (Hough and Jeffery 2006). To address this situation, political parties need to restructure and remodel themselves to remain competitive to the voters. Parties need to come up with mechanisms of ensuring that interests and needs of the voters are incorporated into their manifestos to make them more appealing to the masses. This will guarantee a higher voter turnout. Conclusion The list of what needs to be done to turn the tides against low voter turnout is endless. But I believe that more can be achieved if all the above is looked into. What’s more! The British voters need to be educated that voting is a civic duty that people who have reached the voting age are supposed to undertake. The younger generation seems not to know about this fact and this can explain where voting in the UK is ‘exclusively’ for the older generation. The government also needs to address major structural difficulties which exist among ethnic minorities and young voters (Hough & Jeffery 2006). Political parties must identify and respond to the many and varied priorities and needs of these groups of voters. This will be the only successful way to return them back into the voting fold. References Bogdanor, V., & Butler, D 1983. Democracy and Elections: Electoral Systems and their Political consequences, CUP Archive. Retrieved from Read More