How much engagement is there in politics in the UK?
Engagement in UK-wide politics
There has been concern that interest and participation in politics has been in decline. For UK-wide general elections, voter turnout has been falling during the last 50 years from 78% in 1958 down to 59% in 2001. The last general election was a little better, however, with 67% of the electorate turning out to vote for the general election in 2019.
Engagement in Scottish politics
The percentage of people voting in the Scottish Parliamentary election follows a similar pattern.
| Election year | Voter turnout |
| 1999 | 59.1% |
| 2003 | 49.4% |
| 2007 | 52.4% |
| 2011 | 50.4% |
| 2016 | 55.6% |
| 2021 | 63% |
| Election year | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 59.1% |
| Election year | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 49.4% |
| Election year | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 52.4% |
| Election year | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 50.4% |
| Election year | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 55.6% |
| Election year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Voter turnout | 63% |
What impact have recent referenda had?
The two recent referenda 鈥 on Scottish Independence and then on The term referring to Britain voting to leave the EU. 鈥 have seen higher voting turnouts and have been credited with re-igniting an interest in and an engagement with politics.
The 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
The 2014 Independence Referendum saw a voter turnout rate of 84.6% 鈥 the highest ever recorded in the UK. This could be because in referendums there is one clear issue to vote on with the promise of a clear, defined outcome and every vote counts.
Like voter turnouts, membership of political parties has generally declined since the 1950s. As of 2017, 1.7% of the population were members of one of the major political parties.
Party membership in Scotland is a little different. The SNP had around 25,000 members before the independence referendum. After the referendum this increased to around 125,000. However, there has been a decline in membership. According to the National, a pro-independence newspaper, membership levels are 74,889 as of April 2023.