Understanding Society will be launching its 12th annual Insights report at the event. The report covers two major themes relevant to a future general election: what shapes political participation in the UK; and what is evidence telling us about building a shared transition to net zero. This is a policy and practitioner event, not an academic one.
Understanding what conditions drives people to engage with politics, and how political behaviour changes across events, the life course and generations, is vital for building a long-term healthy democracy. The period since the 2008 global financial crisis has been politically turbulent, with the EU Referendum fuelling social and cultural tensions that had long simmered under the surface. This Understanding Society policy conference will examine the substantial factors at play that shape our political attitudes and participation. As we head into a highly contested national election, what are the key messages for politicians, policymakers, commentators, campaigners and local communities?
Internationally, the proportion of people who are highly satisfied with how the political system works in the UK is one of the lowest in a 23 country comparison by the World Values Survey. Despite recent increases in voter turnout at general elections, participation is significantly below the levels seen in the 1950s to mid-1990s. There has been falling trust in governments across many liberal democracies, alongside a rise in populism and culture wars aimed at mobilising those who feel disenfranchised.
Broad engagement from the public is critical to hold governments to account, and ensure they focus on issues of substance to the public, rather than becoming self-serving. So how influential are substantive life issues, from the economy and education to changing nature of local communities and home ownership in shaping political engagement and voting behaviours? Getting young people interested in politics is essential, so what factors play a role in influencing their political socialisation?
Deep seated socio-economic gaps in political participation can be intertwined with lack of progress on substantive issues, and breeds scepticism about the prospects of long-term change. Democratic inequality ends up becoming a vicious cycle, providing a stronger voice to some while disenfranchising others. This risk has been growing in the 21 century as political membership of mainstream parties continue to decline and get older.
Most people are spectators or sceptics rather than activists in political affairs, and while voting is the primary route to political expression for many, decisions by voting are not ‘solving’ major issues. What additional political stimuli is needed to drive change? With a decline in deference, can a societal shift in political expression through routes such as petitions and campaigns, imaginative or generative local democracy and community participation, stimulate change on substantive issues – or simply raise expectations of influencing decisions difficult to deliver?
Programme*
09.30 – 10.00 Registration
10.00 – 10.15 Welcome and introduction
10.15 – 10.45 Keynote Speaker (including Q&A)
Ben Ansell, Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions, University of Oxford
10.45 – 11.40 Young people and political socialisation: education, early hardship and family influence
Social and gender disparities in youth political engagement: role of education – Jan Germen Janmaat, Professor of Political Socialization, University College London
Material deprivation in childhood and future voting – Dr Sebastian Jungkunz, Post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Political Science and Sociology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany (Online)
Can youth volunteering reduce inequalities in turnout? – Dr Stuart Fox, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Exeter
11.40 – 12.00 Tea & coffee break
12.00 – 13.15 Role of economic factors and life events in shaping political participation (part 1)
Economic determinants of voting behaviour in general elections – Georgios Chrysanthou, Lecturer, Economics, University of Bath
Political consequences of technological change: ordinary winners of digitalization at the ballot box – Aina Gallego, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Barcelona, and Research Associate, Institut de Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals and Institute of Political Economy and Governance
When life happens: the impact of life events on turnout – Lauri Rapeli, Head of Research, Social Science Research Institute, Åbo Akademi University (Online)
Intergenerational transmission of political engagement in immigrant families – Renee Luthra, Director, Essex Centre for Migration Studies and Assistant Director, ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC)
13.15 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 15.00 Role of communities, belonging and housing in shaping political participation (part 2)
Community deprivation and civic participation – Franco Bonomi Bezzo, Research Fellow, La Statale, University of Milan
Anywheres, somewhere, local attachment and civic participation – Tak Wing Chan, Professor of Quantitative Social Science, UCL Institute of Education
Expansion of homeownership and long-term political consequences – Sinisa Hadziabdic, Senior Researcher, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
15.00 – 15.20 Tea & coffee break
Panel session
15.20 – 16.30 Where to for a healthier democracy?
- Emma Norris, Deputy Director, Institute for Government
- Shabna Begum, Interim co-Chief Executive officer, Runnymede Trust
- Matthew McGregor, Chief Executive Officer, 38 Degrees
- Jessie Joe Jacobs, Director of The Democracy Network
16.30 End of event
*Programme subject to changes
