Political Participation and Democracy in Britain

Why do some people involve themselves in politics and others not? Which issues are they concerned with? What do they get out of it? Answering such questions is fundamental to understanding political life and the workings of liberal democracies. This book presents the results of one of the most extensive surveys ever undertaken on the levels and patterns of political involvement in Britain. It is based on the findings of a sample survey of nearly 1,600 people across England, Scotland and Wales as well as a further 1,600 men and women and nearly 300 leaders in six specially selected and contrasting communities. These people were asked about the extent to which they had taken political action, particularly at a local level, and the authors found higher levels of participation than previous research has revealed. They analyse these findings in terms of age, gender, social class and education and look at the reactions of local leaders to the efforts people make to influence them.

Geraint Parry is W. J. M. Mackenzie Professor of Government at the University of Manchester. He has published widely on political participation and democracy including Political elites, Democracy, consensus and social contract (as joint editor) and, as co-author, Local politics and participation in Britain and France. George Moyser is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont. He has published extensively on the political behaviour of citizens and elites, including, as co-author, Church and politics in a secular age and Local politics and participation in Britain and France and, as joint editor, Research methods for elite studies. Neil Day is a lecturer at the Centre for Programme Evaluation at the Institute of Education of the University of Melbourne. He is a specialist on research design and his publications include, as co-author, The British electorate 1963-1987.