In the UK, the level of political participation is measured by voter turnout in general elections which take place every 5 years, although there are other means through which a person can be politically active. As a representative democracy, elections are the cornerstone of democracy in the United Kingdom. The level of voter turnout must therefore be an important indicator of the health of the broader democratic system. However, in recent years, the proportion of the general public voting in general elections has reached new lows since universal voting was introduced in the UK. It could be argued that the UK is suffering from a “crisis of political participation” in which the public is increasingly disengaged from British politics. But this diagnosis may be a bit premature as the problem may not be a decline in the overall level of political participation but rather a shift from one type of participation to another. Therefore, it is difficult to decide whether the problem is about the apathetic nature of society or a more fundamental issue surrounding the outdated democratic system that dictates UK politics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The argument that the UK is a victim of decreasing levels of electoral participation is supported by substantial evidence. Of all forms of political participation, voter turnout is the most easily identifiable with this issue and so if the state of British political participation were based solely on this form of political participation, the claim that Britain is in a sort of crisis is not false. Election day turnout has been steadily declining since the 1960s, despite occasional fluctuations appearing in 1974 and 1992. However, the 2001 election was what gave merit to the accusation that there is some sort of political crisis, such as the voter turnout on this day. the elections were the lowest ever recorded since universal voting began. The figure presented in the 2001 election was just over 59%, with the winning party's vote total falling by 2.8 million, despite winning an overwhelming majority. The low turnout observed at this election has never been given a good explanation, although the Labor Party attempted to provide an argument in the form of "Hapatia". Their opinion was that the public was too comfortable with the government in power and with their own situation that voting was not necessary. The change was unnecessary and so the electorate was consumed with the idea that elections were a waste of time. But this was a very controversial analysis made by Labor because of its optimism about the situation at the time. However, the question of why there is a repeated lack of public engagement in politics is one that plagues politicians, and the answer will never truly be known. But the most convincing reason seems to be the disillusionment of public opinion which catalyzes the total rejection of politics. While many like to blame MPs and political parties for being completely out of touch with the majority of the electorate, is it really their fault that the public fails to engage and so it is just guesswork for those in government? The main reason, however, seems to be the idea that the public's vote does not matter and that the decision has already been made before the public even shows up at the polling station. 17 million voters live in safe polling stations and 85% of polling stations do not change whenthis is a general election. Whatever the advantages of the “first past the post” system, they are undeniably overshadowed by this serious problem. It is obvious to see that Britain is suffering from some kind of problem, whether the word “crisis” is entirely appropriate or not. something to discuss. But there are ways to identify this problem beyond analyzing general election data. Low voter turnout extends to other forms of political participation, including party membership and union, local, municipal and European elections. Both of these forms of democracy regularly receive poor reception, not just in the UK but around the world. Voter turnout in the 2014 European elections saw a wide selection of turnout from the results recorded by all 28 countries. With some countries such as Belgium reaching almost 90%, it is difficult not to see the UK's 35.60% turnout as anything other than evidence of the crisis of political participation. The argument is that in countries like Belgium, voting in elections like the European ones are compulsory and therefore there is likely to be a high turnout. If so, why don't Belgium and other countries record 100% voter turnout? The most obvious and logical explanation is to address the theory that there is a problem with political participation and, together with general voter turnout, the European elections are a clear example of this. Regardless of Britain's less than enthusiastic approach to the European Union and European involvement, it is obvious, not just to politicians, that there is an anti-political attitude taking root in the electorate, or there is a problem more fundamental with democracy. Again, in the case of other smaller elections, media coverage is significantly less than for larger elections, such as general elections, and therefore people are misinformed about such elections. Another example of the problem turning into what could be considered a crisis is the decline in party membership in recent years, despite a small increase in the Labor Party since it welcomed new leader Jeremy Corbyn. With parties becoming increasingly centrist and the furthest edges of the political spectrum slowly dissolving, joining a party in no way allows a person to express their political opinion and is therefore for most people a useless concept . However, this debate divides public opinion, as one might argue, there is no crisis, or even a problem at all, and that the nature of democracy is simply moving with the times. These outdated forms of political engagement and democracy are a thing of the past, and new, more convenient ways of being politically active are replacing them. In a liberal democracy, such as the UK, a high voter turnout is desirable as it is the jewel in the crown of democracy, but declining levels of political participation arise from the way politics have changed rather than the change of the behavior of the electorate. The nature of modern politics, built on centrally focused ideologies and political parties more obsessed with getting to power and catching a glimpse of Number 10 rather than sticking to thoughtful policies, does not support this system of democracy employed in the UK today. As a result, the current situation has encouraged new types of political participation consisting of pressure groups and interest group membership. Groups like this offer an alternative to the centrist politics that is at the heart of party politics. Parties create policies that aim to appeal.