International Day of Democracy 2016: Building a democracy that works for the whole of the UK
Minister for the Constitution Chris Skidmore outlines how we can build on the momentum of 2016 and continue to increase democratic engagement in the UK.
This year has been one of the busiest in our democratic history, with a record number of people engaged in local elections and a national referendum.
We know that voter registration levels often reach peaks during electoral events, so the challenge for us going forward will be to maintain these levels of democratic engagement, at the same time as getting out into those communities which we know are more likely to feel disengaged.
To build a democracy that works for everyone, I’m determined that we should be recognising voter under-registration as an issue of social justice.
Already in my first Cabinet Office questions last week, I announced that the Government will be looking again at anonymous registration for those seeking refuge from domestic violence.
I’m keen to look at issues like this that highlight how our electoral system could better support those who actively want to participate, and simply are unable to do so.
Engaging young people in politics
As someone who was elected at the age of 28, this is an area which I recognise raises concerns.
The latest figures from the Electoral Commission revealed that only 60% of 16–24 year olds think that it is a duty to vote, compared to 83% of over 65 year olds.
Engaging young people is vital for the future wellbeing of our democracy.
Citizenship education in schools can play a role in helping to teach voter registration, its process and democratic importance. That’s why we have reinforced the curriculum to focus on democracy and government .
The shift to Individual Electoral Registration means that every citizen has the ability and right to add their names to the register.
Under the previous system, students often did not know whether they were registered at their home or term time address or both. Students now have a clear route to register so that they can be sure about being able to vote.
For students who do want to register at their term time address, we want to make sure this is as easy as possible.
Sheffield University has had great success through their Cabinet Office funded pilot which invited students to register by adding an electoral registration page to the existing enrolment process, raising registration from 11,939 to 18,349, 65% of all eligible students ahead of the General Election 2015. This is five times higher than the nearest comparable university.
I think we have a lot to learn from this and other pilots that are being conducted across the UK.
Harnessing the power of data matching
Currently local authorities are conducting their annual canvass of households to identify possible updates or gaps in their register. The canvass process is ripe for modernisation. So we’re running new pilots with local authorities in Birmingham, South Lakeland and Ryedale to make this process quicker and simpler — and more effective.
We know that making good use of data is key to modernising registration.
The Birmingham Pilot is expected to deliver major savings by ensuring that a response from the household including reminder letters will only be sought if the data does not match the locally held sources, including council tax data, and the existing register entries.
This kind of approach — if shown to be successful — could be rolled out more widely, helping to save millions of pounds from the cost of the canvass while improving registration for citizens.
Voter registration has changed forever
The landscape of electoral registration has changed forever with the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration — there will be no return to any system of block voting. I want to build on the progress that is being made by the Modern Electoral Registration Programme and encourage everyone who is eligible to participate in our vibrant, inclusive democracy.
Later this Autumn, I am setting out in greater detail the Government’s plans for democratic engagement. I want to build on the progress that is being made by the Modern Electoral Registration Programme which has delivered, and is currently developing, a number of projects to make registering to vote more efficient, for those making an application to register and Electoral Registration Officers.
For more information and resources to promote democratic engagement and voter registration in the UK visit our website.
