Political Participation and Democracy in Britain [Paperback]

The results of a survey on the level and patterns of political involvement in Britain.The results of one of the most extensive surveys ever undertaken on the levels and patterns of political participation in Britain is based on the findings of a sample survey of nearly 3500 people.The results of one of the most extensive surveys ever undertaken on the levels and patterns of political participation in Britain is based on the findings of a sample survey of nearly 3500 people.Why do some people involve themselves in politics and others not? Which issues are they concerned with? What do they get out of it? Answering such questions is fundamental to understanding political life and the workings of liberal democracies. This book presents the results of one of the most extensive surveys ever undertaken on the levels and patterns of political involvement in Britain. It is based on the findings of a sample survey of nearly 1,600 people across England, Scotland and Wales as well as a further 1,600 men and women and nearly 300 leaders in six specially selected and contrasting communities. These people were asked about the extent to which they had taken political action, particularly at a local level, and the authors found higher levels of participation than previous research has revealed. They analyse these findings in terms of age, gender, social class and education and look at the reactions of local leaders to the efforts people make to influence them.Preface; List of figures, tables and charts; Part I. Theories and Methods: 1. Participation and democracy; 2. The study of participation and its political context; Part II. Patterns and Pathways: 3. Patterns of political participation; 4. Individual resources; 5. Group resources; 6. Economic location; 7. Personal factors; 8. Political outlooks; 9. Party and values; 10. Who are the political activists; Part III. Issues and Actions: 11. Agendas and political action; 12. Do participants get what they want? The costs and benefits lƒ*