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A new report published today finds serious differences in levels of political knowledge, interest and activism between different social groups. But it suggests that creating more opportunities for direct participation, where citizens can directly influence political decisions through petitions, demonstrations and public inquiries, for example, will not bridge this gap.

Published by the Electoral Commission and Hansard Society, the third annual Audit of political engagement points to an utterly disengaged minority, made up mainly of people from lower social economic groups, who know little about politics and care even less:

• 14% of the UK population are not at all interested in politics
• 17% do not want to have a say in how the country is run
• 12% would not be willing to do anything to influence or protest against a decision by a local or national government body

The findings also suggest that new forms of direct participation are most likely to be used by those already politically active predominantly the better educated, professional social groups - further marginalising the utterly disengaged.

While a large majority of people claim they want a say in how the country is run (67%), and like the idea of more direct methods of participating, they are often unwilling to put this into practice. People from lower social economic groups are least likely to get involved. For example, 63% of ABs say they would be willing to contact their MP or councillor compared to 32% of DEs. 61% of ABs say they have signed a petition, compared to 32% of DEs. ABs are three times more likely than people from lower social economic groups to have attended a demonstration (21% compared to 7%).

Commenting on the findings, Sam Younger, Chairman of the Electoral Commission said: 'This latest audit demonstrates that social and political exclusion are inextricably linked. Those of us in the political community need to adopt an approach which can demonstrate that politics and political processes can be used by everyone, from every background, to tackle the issues which affect their lives.'

Lord Holme, Chairman of the Hansard Society, commented: 'Opening up opportunities for wider political involvement of citizens is crucial, but we must bear in mind the political inequalities highlighted by this Audit. Creating new structures alone will not necessarily draw disengaged groups into politics on the contrary, it could just encourage the dominance of the educated and affluent. Participatory structures must supplement but not supplant representative institutions that weigh competing interests and act on behalf of the whole community.'

Overall, interest in politics is up slightly on last year - 56% compared with 53% in 2005. The evidence also suggests that big electoral events, such as the general election 2005, continue to drive interest and activism in politics. In May 2005 interest in politics rose to 61% although this was not sustained after the election, with levels returning to normal levels quickly afterwards.

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For further information or to arrange interviews please contact:

Gemma Thomas at the Electoral Commission on 020 7271 0529 / 07789 920414 or Virginia Gibbons at Hansard Society on 020 7438 1225 / 07812 765552

Editors Notes

1.   Other Audit findings show:

• Professional/non-manual workers [ABs] (60%) are much more likely to feel knowledgeable about politics than manual workers/non-working people [DEs] (22%). Interest in politics follows the same pattern ABs (76%) compared to DEs (37%)
• People with academic qualifications at A-level (52%) are twice as likely as those with no formal qualifications (24%) to feel they know a fair amount or a great deal about politics
• Men are more likely (49%) to claim knowledge about politics than women (30%); they are also more likely (62% compared to 51%) to say they are interested in politics but both genders are similar (54% and 55%) in their propensity to vote
• 44% of people aged 55+ claim knowledge about politics compared to 22% of 18-24 year olds; those over 55 are twice as likely as 18-24 year olds to say they would be certain to vote (72% compared to 29%)
• 45-54 year olds are the most politically active group (22%) while 18-24 year olds are the least active age group (only 9% classify themselves as activists)
• When it came to naming their own MP, seven months after the 2005 general election, 44% were able to do so.  Once again, the least aware were 18-24 year olds (22%) compared to those over 45 (54%).

• The Audit also found:
  • Most adults in the UK (61%) do not feel they know much about politics
  • Many (44%) do not find it of interest
  • Only a minority (14%) are politically active
  • Just over half (55%) say they would be absolutely certain to vote at an immediate general election
  • Overall political engagement is little changed since last years audit. Although there was a high-water mark of interest (61%) during the 2005 election campaign, it soon fell back to normal levels (56%)

2. The Electoral Commission is an independent body established by the UK Parliament. It aims to ensure public confidence and participation in the democratic process within the United Kingdom through modernisation of the electoral process, promotion of public awareness of electoral matters and regulation of political parties.

3. The Hansard Society is an independent, non-partisan educational charity which exists to promote effective parliamentary democracy.

4. Audit of political engagement 3 was undertaken by The Electoral Commission and the Hansard Society. It is based on a Political Engagement Poll undertaken by Ipsos MORI involving interviews with a representative sample of 1,209 adults aged 18+ across the UK. Interviewing took place face-to-face in respondents homes between December 1 and 5, 2005 across the UK. The data have been weighed to the known national population profile.

5. A full Audit will be published every third year with update audits, such as this one, in between.

6. The Electoral Commission published a research paper on social exclusion and political engagement in 2005 that looks in depth at the mutually reinforcing cycle of social and political exclusion. This can be downloaded at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/research.

7. The Hansard Society has recently published Neglecting Democracy which analyses the complex relationship between citizens and the state and MPs and politics in our time which emphasises the central role that MPs and parties must play in providing a catalyst for the renewal of contemporary politics. Both can be downloaded at http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications/recent