The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Voter disconnect with `Westminster Village'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 11, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Voter disconnect with `Westminster Village'

By A Special Correspondent

As the British general election draws near, two things are becoming clear: voter turnout will be depressingly low, and Labour's lead is narrowing.

FOLLOWING PRIME Minister Tony Blair's announcement of a May 5 general election, the official campaign is set to kick off on April 11. In reality, the campaign started months ago, with political parties churning out policies and programmes designed to capture the public's imagination. In recent weeks, Labour has focussed on the economy, announced more money for school dinners, and measures to reduce child poverty, while the Conservatives have stirred up a debate on asylum seekers, immigration, and travellers. However, opinion polls conducted over the past months suggest that no amount of posturing or media-grabbing headlines seems to reach through to an electorate that feels little connection with the aggressive and highly personalised politics that is currently dominant in what has come to be known as the "Westminster Village."

Pollsters are predicting a voter turnout even lower than the 59 per cent in 2001, a stunningly poor level compared with the 84 per cent who turned out in 1950. Membership of political parties has also declined — the three main political parties have fewer than 600,000 members between them. At the same time, public interest in political issues and debates appears as strong as ever, as indicated by the large numbers who have participated in demonstrations against the war in Iraq, the introduction of top-up fees, and even fox hunting. Campaigns such as `Make Poverty History' and others on the environment have attracted widespread support. Rather than being politically apathetic, people are distancing themselves from the formal political system. In many cases the decision not to vote is purposeful, not passive.

The sharp decline in electoral turnout is partly the result of socio-economic factors, which means traditional class loyalties to the parties are gradually wearing thin. However, it is clear that the problem of trust, which has always been a problem for politicians but has been in the forefront of the debate since the war in Iraq, will play a crucial role in the election. Just over two years to the day since Baghdad fell to the American-led coalition, information released under the new Freedom of Information Act suggests that the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, who advised Mr. Blair that the war was legal, changed his opinion only weeks earlier. Such revelations alongside the controversy surrounding the suicide of Dr. David Kelly and the absence of any weapons of mass destruction continue to highlight the messy decision-making process that took Britain into the war despite widespread public scepticism and protest.

In many ways, things should be good for the Labour Government: the economy is in a relatively strong position and unemployment is low, especially when compared with other countries in Western Europe. In an attempt to highlight the positives and persuade the electorate to forget the war, the Labour party has chosen the election slogan: "Forward Not Back." However, the spectre of Iraq continues to haunt Mr. Blair and has an impact on public perceptions of government policy and pledges, beyond foreign policy. Nearly 90 per cent of respondents in a recent BBC poll said that politicians do not deliver on promises, with 92 per cent complaining that politicians do not give a straight answer. Mr. Blair is particularly unpopular — 57 per cent are dissatisfied with the job he is doing as Prime Minister.

Traditional Labour supporters have also been alienated by a distinct rightward shift in the party's policies. Despite introducing some poverty-reducing measures, including for children and single parent families, Mr. Blair is very wary of embracing traditional Labour values. Branding his government as "New Labour," he has consistently rejected the centrality of the public sector ethos to key services including education and health, and is an eager proponent of Private Finance Initiatives. In 2003, the Government introduced legislation that would effectively make public sector hospitals independent of the government, and force them to compete with one another for funding and business. The legislation was forced through Parliament despite opposition from former Ministers and moderate backbenchers. In 2004, the Government went back on an election pledge and introduced legislation that allows universities to increase the amount they can charge domestic students — once again courting controversy, protest, and anger from the public.

In the run-up to the election, the Labour Government has also sought to identify issues traditionally taken up by the Conservatives — to beat them by stealing their clothes. In the past months, Labour has pledged tougher action on asylum seekers and immigrants to ward off Conservative criticisms that they have been "soft." While some of the proposals of the Government and Conservative Party on these issues have been receiving a worryingly high level of support in some sections of society, they have succeeded in alienating many of the Labour Party's traditional supporters. In particular, there has been a sharp decline in ethnic minority support for the Labour Party: it has plummeted from 75 per cent in 2001 to 58 per cent in 2005.

A common argument for supporting the New Labour agenda has been that it was only by capturing the "middle class ground" that Labour succeeded in ending almost two decades of Conservative rule. The Government's policies have certainly helped give Labour two landslide victories, and there are few doubts about who will win the election. However, as the election date draws near, two things are becoming clear: voter turnout will be depressingly low, and Labour's lead over its rivals is narrowing. On the day Tony Blair called the election, a public opinion poll by The Guardian showed that the Labour Party had a slim three-percentage point lead over the Conservatives, six points down from the 2001 general election.

There is even talk of a hung Parliament and a possible Labour-Liberal Democratic coalition. A close call in the general election of May 5 may well shake a seemingly unsinkable New Labour Government, and encourage it to listen to what its left wing critics have been saying for years.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

LOOKING BEYOND THE BOUNDARY

MISSING, A HOLISTIC VIEW OF TRADE

Crisis in Lebanon

Voter disconnect with `Westminster Village'

Administrative reforms