A meaningful connection with the democratic process

There is today growing concern about a disconnect between those in authority and the public at large.

This gained particularly clear expression in this summer’s riots. One of the ways in which this sense of disconnect makes its presence felt is through growing voter apathy and the decision of many not to bother voting.

This tendency, particularly developed amongst the young, is a huge long-term concern for Christians for a number of reasons.

Firstly, there is recognition that if voter participation falls below a certain level it will inevitably call the credibility of democracy into question.

Secondly, as Churchill once famously observed, the alternatives to democracy are not that great.

Thirdly, Christians have over many years played a key, although often overlooked, role in facilitating the democratic process through the provision of church election hustings: the opportunity for members of the community to come and meet all their local candidates and question them.

The role of churches in the provision of hustings has made them particularly aware of the dangers of growing voter apathy and of the benefits of local hustings as a tool for voter empowerment.

The traditional image of a hustings is perhaps less than exciting: a panel of grey men in grey suits chaired, in tedious fashion, by a deeply uninspiring chairman, for a very long hour and a half.

How can this help? The simple answer is, of course, that it can’t. But hustings don’t have to, and happily often don’t, conform to the caricature.

The truth is that in the course of an election many constituents will only meet some of the candidates and some won’t meet any at all. In this context – forced to rely on election literature stuffed through the letter box – many constituents will feel disconnected and that they are not in a position to make an informed choice; consequently some won’t bother.

For them the option of an attractive hustings, where they can meet all the candidates at the same time and compare and contrast their answers to questions, is a profoundly empowering experience.

In the run up to the 2010 elections, CARE, mindful of the challenges of voter apathy and the fact that Christians also have a key contribution to make to the public policy debate, encouraged churches to host hustings. We were completely blown away by the response: 293 churches registered on our web site.

After the General Election, CARE surveyed participating churches and produced a report outlining the main findings, together with tips about how to make hustings more exciting!

We will be presenting the findings at a seminar in Parliament on 24 October which will include keynote speakers reflecting on: a) the challenge of voter apathy and how hustings have a role to play in empowering the electorate and b) how to make your hustings a success.

Chaired by Gary Streeter MP, who represents the Electoral Commission in Parliament, the event will involve a variety of speakers including Ruth Fox from the Hansard Society, Gavin Shuker MP, Ros Baston from the Electoral Commission, hustings organisers and Dan Boucher from CARE.

The event is open to members of the public, though spaces are limited. If you would like to come along, the event is between 6:00pm-8:30pm. Please contact Chris.Buttenshaw@care.org.uk for further information or to register your interest in attending.

Chris Buttenshaw is Public Affairs Officer at CARE