There are many ways in which citizens of a democracy can play a part in the political process. Many students answering questions on this topic refer only to voting in general elections, but there are many other forms of legal political participation. These include belonging to a political party or other political organisation, donating money to a political cause, campaigning on behalf of a political organisation, attending a political meeting, rally or demonstration, contacting an elected politician or member of a political organisation, watching or listening to ‘political’ television or news programmes, attending a citizenship lesson, and even discussing ‘politics’ or political issues with friends or family — all these are forms of political participation.
Obviously, you are most likely to use this concept if you are taking the Power and politics option, although it may also arise when discussing other aspects of social life, such as social class, gender, ethnicity or age, as all these can affect the nature and extent of a person’s political participation. However, let us look first at the form most likely to be discussed by students, namely voting. In virtually all forms of election, voting turnout has shown a decline. Figure 1 shows the turnout at UK general elections from 1945–2005. You will note that the highest turnout occurred in 1950, when 83.9% of registered voters took part in the election, and the lowest was in 2001, when only 59.4% of those eligible to vote actually did so. Your textbooks and/or notes will explain some of the reasons put forward for this downward trend, as well as giving you a breakdown by class, age and gender of patterns of turnout.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
