New Poll Shows UK Voters Disillusioned With Political System

Sharp increase in percentage who say elections are not free and fair

LONDON, 26 MARCH 2015 – On the eve of the general election campaign, dissatisfaction with the UK political system is at high levels. Over seven in ten UK citizens (73%) say that their country is not “governed by the will of the people,” according to a new GlobeScan survey of 1,000 British adults.
This sense of alienation is a lasting trend in the minds of Britons as similar proportions felt the same way in 2011 (76%) and in 2003 (70%).
The study also reveals that there has been a sharp increase in the percentage of Britons (31%) who say that “elections are not free and fair”—a number which has doubled since 2002.
The findings are part of a 23-country global study looking at how public perceptions on democracy and election-related issues compare across the world.
Doug Miller, President of the GlobeScan Foundation, says: “These high levels of disillusionment among British voters suggest that established political parties will be severely challenged to engage Britons in this election campaign, and that challenger parties and first-time candidates can expect to do better than ever before.”
The political cynicism of the electorate is intensified by well-established perceptions in the minds of Britons that the benefits and burdens of recent economic developments are not shared fairly. Six in ten (61%) feel this way, and such attitudes could be damaging to David Cameron’s hopes of securing a second term of office on the back of economic expansion.
However, these perceptions of economic unfairness are in line with those under a Labour government (57% in 2009) suggesting a longer-term sense of economic exclusion among the electorate.
In Scotland, which is set to be a key electoral battleground and traditionally a Labour-supporting area, close to 90 per cent say the country is not governed according to the will of the people, and two-thirds are not satisfied with the way economic benefits and burdens have been shared. Disillusion with the system is also fairly strong in the Labour-friendly regions of Northern England, and in the more Conservative-inclined South West.
A nationally representative sample of 1,000 citizens in the United Kingdom were interviewed by telephone between January 27^th and February 1^st, 2015. Fieldwork in the UK was carried out for GlobeScan by Populus. Questions were asked of a half sample. The results are accurate within a margin of error of +/-4.4%, 19 times out of 20. 

About The GlobeScan Foundation

Established in 2012, the GlobeScan Foundation is a not-for-profit dedicated to helping achieve a sustainable and just world for all.
The GlobeScan Foundation focuses on developing and applying a range of social science tools to help give voice to global publics, unlock collaboration and accelerate progress.
The Foundation is partly funded by GlobeScan Incorporated, the 25-year-old stakeholder intelligence and engagement firm with offices in London, San Francisco, Toronto, and Cape Town, that has conducted the 20-nation BBC World Service Poll for the last decade.
For more information, please visit: www.GlobeScanFoundation.org

For more information, images, or a spokesperson, please contact:

• Robin Miller, Manager, Communications and Digital Media, GlobeScan
  647-528-2767
  robin.miller@globescan.com

• Lionel Bellier, Associate Director, GlobeScan
  44-7896-011645
  lionel.bellier@globescan.com