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"And without mass political participation, the sense of disconnection between citizens and their representatives will inevitably grow."
Over the last decade, political party affiliation and electoral turn declined significantly. An astonishingly low 1% identify themselves with a political party.
In 2010, turnout for Britain's general election was around 60%. For European and local ones, it was about 33%.
Disillusionment discourages public involvement. According to Sadiq Khan, Labor Party MP/Shadow Secretary of the State for Justice:
"What I find really troubling is there's no shortage of big issues which we must get to grips with -- the economy, the future of our health, education and social care systems, our environment -- many of which grab the attention of the public, but there's a disconnect when it comes to party politics."
DA's report claimed 74 "areas of improvement." At the same time, 92 "continuing concerns" overshadowed them. So did another 62 "new or emerging concerns." Electoral fraud was one.
Compared to other OECD and EU countries, Britain ranked low. Troubling issues include corporate power, corruption, press freedom, declining trade union membership, and socioeconomic inequality.
Britain falls woefully short. Conditions are deteriorating, not improving. Attempts to rejuvenate its democracy failed. Turnout in a rare referendum on changing the electoral system was 42%.
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