Audit of Political Engagement 9, 2011

The <i>Audit of Political Engagement</i> is a time-series study providing an annual benchmark to measure political engagement in Great Britain, gauging public opinion about politics and the political system, and more broadly the general health of our democracy. Each Audit report presents the findings from a public opinion survey, providing detailed commentary on a range of measures that have been chosen as key measures of political engagement. Repeating questions in successive years enables us to chronicle the public’s responses year on year and track the direction and magnitude of change since the Audit was first published in 2004, building trend data on public attitudes to key aspects of our democracy. <br>
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The Audit looks at core inter-locking areas that are known as vital facets, or 'building blocks', of political engagement. Given the multi-dimensional nature of political engagement, the indicators chosen are not exhaustive, but in capturing aspects of public behaviour, knowledge, opinions, attitudes and values towards politics they help us understand the drivers of political engagement and the relationships between them. Across the Audit series several 'core' indicator questions have been asked each year, supplemented by a range of thematic and topical questions, some of which are re-visited on two- or three-year cycles.<br>
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Further information about the survey series is available from the Hansard Society <a href="https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/research/audit-of-political-engagement" title="Audit of Political Engagement">Audit of Political Engagement</a> webpages.<br>
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The <i>Audit of Political Engagement 9, 2011</i> provides an update of the six core indicators. A year ago, Audit 8 reflected on a growing sense of indifference to politics. The greater levels of interest in and perceived knowledge of politics in an election year had not been matched by greater satisfaction with, or a greater engagement in, the political process beyond a slight increase in turnout itself. The 2011 Audit suggests that indifference has hardened into something more significant, and disturbing. Trends in interest and knowledge are downward, sharply so in some cases.<br>
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The 2011 Audit also examined two political models: 'stealth democracy' and 'sunshine democracy'. The findings are discussed in the following paper:<br>
Stoker, G. and Hay, C. 'Comparing folk theories of democratic politics: stealth and sunshine', paper presented at the <i>Political Studies Association (PSA UK) Annual Conference</i>, Belfast, April 3-5, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012 from <a href="http://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2012/10_144.pdf" title="Comparing folk theories of democratic politics: stealth and sunshine">http://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2012/10_144.pdf</a><br>
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In addition to the quantitative survey, the 2011 Audit drew on the findings of 14 focus groups held across the country between November 2011 and March 2012, which explored public attitudes to politics and the democratic process. These are available from the UK Data Archive under SN 7855 - <I>Anti-Politics: Characterising and Accounting for Political Disaffection, 2011-2012</I>.<br>
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