Britain gripped by ‘deep institutional crisis
This article really made me think about the challenges of localism – you can give people all the entitlements you like, they can have the benefit of ready made vehicles for making things happen in rural areas, through the tax raising powers of Parish Councils, however if people have no interest in stepping up to the plate change will not happen. The recent history of those involved with leadership and key institutions in the public eye according to the article, have provided further disincentives for people to trust the institutions and roles which are crucial to making localism work. It tells us:
The crisis has led to the country having one of the lowest political participation rates in the developed world – even below that of Palestine and Iraq.
But it is not just politicians who have lost the faith of the people as the police, the church, the banks and the media have also seen a decline in public trust, according to the Daily Mail.
The MPs’ expenses scandal and the handling of the Libor-rate rigging by banks were amongst the controversies which were blamed for damaging public trust.
The 2011 riots provided the country with an insight into the “unpredictable consequences of institutional breakdown”, the researchers for The Economist Intelligence Unit said.
They measured the health of democracy in 167 countries across the globe.
While Britain scored well for having open and free elections, it was found that an alarmingly low number of people – just over six in 10 – actually participated in politics.
Last year the police and crime commissioner elections only saw a turnout of 15 per cent, while turnout for by-elections has fallen below 50 per cent.
The participation rate was ranked below that of all the other major powers in Europe, and fell behind countries which are not even considered to have fully functions democracies – including Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Tunisia and Namibia.