Evaluate the view that UK Democracy is in a Participation Crisis.

Introduction

• participation crisis can be defined as a lack of engagement in political processes eg. the 2024 general election voter turnout was 59.7%

• participation in political processes is important to ensure the legitimacy of governing parties within parliament

• however, since 1997 there has been a significant decrease in engagement in politics

• therefore this essay will demonstrate that the UK is experiencing a participation crisis by discussing voter turnout, party membership and other forms of political engagement

Paragraph Focus

• Para 1 = Voter Turnout

• Para 2 = Party Membership

• Para 3 = Other Methods of political engagement

Para 1 - Weaker Argument = statements about lower voter turnout may have been exaggerated

• Eg. the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the 2016 EU referendum had tunrouts of 84.6% and 72.2% respecitively, showing there is still signicant engagement surrounding critical issues

• This shows that the population is still very engaged on important political issues on which they feel they have significant control

• Perhaps, this may suggests that the 2024 voter turnout may have been an anomalous result in an otherwise normal average voter turnout

Para 1 - Stronger Argument = Low Voter Turnout

• Eg. The 2024 general election had a 59.7% voter turnout, which was the lowest since 2001 (7.6% decrease) and a great deal ess than the average between 1945 and 1997, which was 76%

• This shows that engagement in political process within the UK is significantly decreasing, perhaps, due to apathy of politics effect on the general publics lives

• This is particularly true for younger voters, who are much less likely to vote than the older generation, therefore limiting the responsiveness of political institutions to the interests pf young people

• Lower voter turnout means that governments are elected on a reduced share of the popular vote, therefore calling the strength of their mandate into question

Para 1 - Evaluation

• clearly the argument that there isn’t a participation crisis is weaker to a large extent because it only considers referendums that focus on a single critical issues and doesn’t consider general elections were voter turnout has been steadily decreasing

• clearly the the argument that there isn’t a a participation crisis is stronger to a large extent because it shows lack of engagement from the electorate which diminishes the legitimacy of government

Para 2 - Weaker Argument = Increase in smaller party membership

• Eg. in 2025, Reform UK party membership (260k) surpassed the membership of the mainstream Conservative Party (123k)

• This shows that evidence of a participation crisis may be exaggerated, especially with the recent spike in smaller party memberships

• this may also suggest that there is an ideological shift and disillusion with mainstream parties within the UK which has forced some of the electorate to move away from parties such as the Conservatives and move towards more smaller parties, perhaps, to break two party dominance of first past the post

Para 2 - Stronger Argument = Low party membership

• Eg. in 2022, only 1.6% of the British electorate belongs to the 3 main parties compared to 3.8% in 1983

• The shows that membership of political parties is significantly lower than it was which may have been due to partisan dealignment and apathy towards political processes

• Eg. in 1953, membership of the Conservative Party was 2.8 million, however in 2025, their membership is 123k

Para 2 - Evaluation

• Clearly the argument that there isn’t a participation crisis is weaker to an extent as despite there being an increase in small party membership, there is a lack of active political engagement and affinity with the Labour and Conservative parties who are always in government

• clearly the argument that there is a participation crisis is stronger to an extent as active political engagement from across the population is important to granting the UK democratic legitimacy

Para 3 - Weaker Argument = Other Methods

• Pressure group membership in the UK has been on the increase, whilst many young people in particular actively engage with politics on social media

• eg. Throughout the throughout 2025, there have been consistent protests by Palestine Action and across the UK for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to put pressure on the Israeli government to end the war

• This direct action has been recognised as a feature of modern politics, indicating that people feel conventional politics has let them down and are turning to new methods of expression

Para 3 - Stronger Argument = Other Methods unimportant

• Other forms of political involvement are certainly important, but are arguably less impactful and important than voting and party membership.

• Voting in elections such as the 2024 general election, and party membership in parties such as Labour, are crucial to granting the UKʼs democratic system legitimacy

• whilst if pressure groups and demonstrations often arenʼt listened to by professional politicians

• this could be seen as undermining UK democracy and showing there is a participation crisis

Para 3 - Evaluation

• Clearly the argument that there isn’t a participation crisis is weaker to an extent as the increase in engagement in pressure groups or online can be a more convenient and accessible way to stay involved in politics.

• clearly the argument that there is a participation crisis is stronger to an extent as rather than voting or membership of political parties, this is increasingly being manifested in other forms of political participation, suggesting a lack of support for the political system and therefore a participation crisis.

Conclusion

• Overall, it can be concluded that there is a participation crisis in the UK. Increasingly low voter turnout, party membership and engagement in traditional political processes, undermines the democratic legitimacy suggesting there is a participation crisis.

• Despite there being some agreement that engagement with smaller parties, pressure groups and single-issue voting, shows a lack of evidence for a participation crisis as they stray away from more mainstream methods of political involvement, it is more reasonable to argue that there is a participation crisis.