British
politics is on the brink of major change, the 2010 election gave us a coalition
government and 2015 is likely to do so again.
The
Conservatives have half done the job of cutting the deficit but living
standards have fallen.
Labour
do not yet look like an alternative government and are expected to lose up to
30 seats to the Scottish Nationalists.
The
Liberal Democrats are competing with UKIP and the Green Party for smaller
numbers of seats.
SNP
could be the third largest party at Westminster and say they would only support
a Labour led Government on terms unlikely to be acceptable.
What
is causing this change from the traditional pattern?
One
obvious cause is growing disillusionment with the mainstream parties and the
MPs expenses scandal was not the principal driver but it did not help voters to
respect MPs.
The
increasing number of professional politicians who have not had a previous
career outside politics also distances them from their electors, but more serious is the perception that MPs are preoccupied with short term partisan
squabbles and not getting to grips with serious long term issues.
The
economy is one example.
We
will have had five years of austerity but the deficit is still too high and more
public spending cuts are required and promised tax cuts are a distant prospect.
That
is unwelcome to a generation told that waiting can be taken out of wanting.
Immigration
is a second big issue for some voters, school class sizes, NHS waiting times
and shortages of affordable housing are the pinch points persuading voters that
more migrants from the EU is a price not worth paying – hence growing support
for UKIP.
Climate
change and finding eco-friendly energy sources is another issue about which the
politicians seem to be dragging their feet whilst vested interests block
progress.
Welfare
reform divides the parties who seem unable to agree a balance between caring
for the genuinely needy poor and rebuilding a culture in which work and
self-reliance are popular virtues.
Underlying
these issues is the short term nature of politics today.
These
are long term issues not capable of being resolved within the scope of a five
year Parliament.
So
what can be done to restore a democratic political culture and institutions?
Devolution
is already on the agenda but so far primarily for Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland and it could be taken further.
Giving
the larger local authorities power to raise local taxes, more discretion in
land use planning, housing and social services, with proper mechanisms of accountability,
could encourage citizens to greater engagement in local politics.
This
would break down the ‘them and us’ attitudes that undermine democratic
participation.
Nationally,
the parties could be encouraged to seek cross-party consensus on such issues as
climate change and energy supplies instead of making them subjects for
partisanship, that would make possible policies that survive changes in
government.
If
we want democracy we as citizens must be prepared both to participate and pray for
practices and policies that restore and maintain it.
