Compulsory voting won't fix young people's disenchantment with mainstream politics
25 Apr 2014 11:23 AM
The introduction of compulsory first-time voting
will not engage today's teenagers in politics or create good voting habits
in future, suggests research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC)
Only 44 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted in the 2010
General Election. That young people seem to be increasingly reluctant to vote
is a major concern to politicians, prompting proposals such as compulsory first
time voting as well as the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband's recent call
for lowering the voting age to 16.
But, argues Nottingham Trent University researcher
Professor Matt Henn: "There's no quick fix for young people's
current disaffection with politics. If politicians are serious about making
young people part of our democracy, then they must introduce a raft of well
thought-through programmes and systems that make young people feel that
participation is meaningful and worthwhile."
Compulsory first time voting, if introduced, could
actually prove counter-productive, Professor Henn insists. Aversion to
politicians is high according to a survey of 1,025 young adults aged 18 that he
and co-researcher Nick Foard conducted a year on from the 2010 UK General
Election. The findings have just been released.
The
overwhelming majority (81 per cent) held a negative view of politicians and
only 8 per cent admitted any trust in political parties. More than half (57 per
cent) claimed that elections don't really change anything.
"Forcing young people to vote when they are so
deeply sceptical of politicians could simply reinforce their negativity and
resentment," says Professor Henn, who is based in Nottingham Trent
University's School of Social Sciences. "Compulsory first-time voting
would also reinforce the negative stereotype of young people as being
'different' from the rest of the adult population - apathetic,
politically irresponsible and basically not good citizens, which is unlikely to
help them feel truly connected to the democratic
process."
In
the survey, 58 per cent of 18 year olds who said they were very unlikely to
vote at the next election claimed that compulsory voting would make either no
difference to this decision (38 per cent), or make them even less likely to
vote (20 per cent). "From this we can infer that the introduction of
compulsory voting would merely serve to reinforce existing feelings of
resentment - perhaps even make young people more susceptible to parties with
anti-democratic tendencies - especially those of the far-right," Professor
Henn warns.
Surprisingly, perhaps, the survey also reveals that
young people are actually more open-minded about politics (as opposed to
politicians) than many people might think. Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of
young people claim at least some interest in politics. Furthermore, young
people appear to maintain some faith in electoral politics: more than half (57
per cent) state that they are committed to the principle of voting and 64 per
cent said that they were considering voting at the next
election.
Professor Henn points out that converting this
democratic commitment into democratic participation is the challenge and
lowering the voting age to 16 could – as part of a wider raft of measures
– help convince teenagers that they are valued by the political class,
rather than maligned and excluded.
"At present it's a vicious circle,"
co-researcher Nick Foard explains. "Politicians tend to pursue policies
that favour older and more voting-inclined groups. If young people don't
vote they tend to be ignored by politicians. When they are ignored by
politicians, young people don't feel motivated to
vote."
To
break this impasse, researchers suggest a programme of measures aimed at
younger voters including an extended and enriched citizenship curriculum in
schools; lowering the voting age to 16; voter registration up to and including
voting day itself; and strong educational campaigns aimed at encouraging 16
year olds to see the value of registering to vote.
"The key question is how do we get more young
people thinking about politics in such a way that they actually want to go and
vote?" Professor Henn says. "Lowering the voting age or compulsory
voting will not in themselves achieve this. Rather, extending the vote to 16
year olds should be tied in with measures to improve young people's
political literacy and help make the idea of democratic participation second
nature. Furthermore, practical measures such as keeping schools open on polling
day so that young people can easily cast their vote while at school and
allowing Election Day registration in schools might also help to boost young
people's turnout at elections."
Further information
For
further information contact:
ESRC Press Office:
Notes for editors
- This release is based on the findings from ‘Young
people and politics in Britain: How do young people participate in politics and
what can be done to strengthen their political connection’ funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council and carried out by Professor Matt Henn,
Chair in Social Research, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent
University and Dr Nick Foard, Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham
Trent University
- Methodology: Researchers carried out a national
representative survey of 1,025 18 year olds living in England, Scotland and
Wales. This was conducted in 2011, and included those who voted at the 2010
General Election and those who did not. This was followed by 14 focus groups
with 86 young people who opted not to vote at the 2010 General Election. See
ESRC End of Award Report RES-000-22-4450
- Beyond the Youth Citizenship Commission volume has been
published and is available online. It is a part of a series of short policy papers aimed at
influencing government and shadow minister.
- The
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funds research into the big social
and economic questions facing us today. We also develop and train the
UK’s future social scientists. Our research informs public policies and
helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective.
Most importantly, it makes a real difference to all our lives. The ESRC is an
independent organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded
mainly by the Government.
- The
ESRC confirms the quality of its funded research by evaluating research
projects through a process of peer review. The research was graded as very
good.