'No' to business-as-usual politics

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

The expenses debacle didn't really affect what the general public thought of politicians because they were hardly trusted anyway and hardened supporters wouldn't change their allegiance just because of a mere scandal, according to a new briefing paper from the Hansard Society and the Political Studies Association.

The 'What's Trust Got To Do With It?' paper said that in 2004, 27 per cent of the public trusted politicians 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' and in 2009 the figure was 26 per cent. Also, 53 per cent of the public said that their allegiance to a political party overrides any perceptions of wrong-doing by candidates – they would still vote for them.

The public is also not convinced that politics play a major part in their lives – while 60 per cent think parliament 'is worthwhile', just 19 per cent see it as an influence in their everyday lives. And 85 per cent of people believe they have 'not very much influence' or 'no influence at all' over national decision-making. Apparently, most people don't think politicians listen to them or that the political system enables them to have much influence.

So politicians should stop worrying about trust, the briefing paper said. Indeed, policies introduced to address issues of trust through greater transparency and accountability (such as the Freedom of Information act) often create a culture of suspicion rather than trust. MPs should focus instead on the lack of satisfaction, relevance and influence that people feel so acutely.

Dr Ruth Fox, director of the Hansard Society's parliament & government programme and author of the paper, said: "The events of the past year have opened up an opportunity for a serious dialogue about what kind of representative democracy we want for the future. Politicians, by focusing on policies designed to engender trust, have missed the bigger, broader underlying concern – the declining levels of public satisfaction, perceived influence on decision-making and confidence in the relevance of parliament to their lives. MPs in the new parliament must tackle essential questions about the role and function of politicians and parliament – if it's just business as usual, public attitudes to politics and parliament may plummet still further."

Take our poll now and give us your opinion. After the election is the public ready to demand a new kind of politics and an end to the 'first past the post' voting system?