It takes all of us
In 2006 the Electoral Administration Act placed a new duty on local authorities to maximise the number of residents registered to vote. In response the Council has developed a new approach to encourage more people to get involved in the everyday life of their community.
This can range from helping the vulnerable to giving blood or to joining an operatic society. We are doing this because we believe that people who take part in local life are more likely to vote. The campaign It takes all of us is about inspiring residents to get involved.
The Council is working with the Volunteer Centre to monitor its effectiveness and see if more residents are inspired to volunteer… and vote.
Get involved and vote
The twenty-first century has seen the number of people voting in the UK dropping to an all-time low.
A study by the Electoral Commission in March 2007 concluded that although many people display an interest in local or national
issues, far fewer are actually willing to become politically active.
Turnout at the 2001 general election was just 59.4 per cent – the lowest recorded since 1950. There were concerns that voting at elections was in permanent decline in the UK, but the 2005 general election saw a slight recovery in turnout, to 61.4 per cent. Similarly, 36 per cent voted in the 2006 local elections in England, compared with just 32.8 per cent in 2002.
Kensington and Chelsea has followed a similar pattern in recent years, though it is lower than the national average. In the 2006
election, turnout was just 28.72 per cent of a larger electoral register.
In this country voter participation is voluntary. Politicians believe voter turnout is important as it confers legitimacy and
strenghtens their mandate. Other commentators, though, assert that the opportunity to vote is the important safeguard and that it is reasonable for many local people to let those keen to be elected get on with it, knowing that if they want to vote in others then they can do so.
In Kensington and Chelsea, the range of nationalities present and the borough’s population turnover means not all voters are
eligible to vote in all elections.
Our overall view is that participation in elections is more likely if local residents feel connected to their local area and have
become involved in some way with others in their neighbourhood.
The 2006 Electoral Administration Act placed a duty on local authorities to 'take all steps that are necessary' to maintain the
electoral register as an accurate record of the Royal Borough’s electors. Faced with this challenge, the Council is
tackling the issue from an unusual angle that goes beyond the traditional methods of canvassers and poster campaigns.
A guide to volunteering and participation
'It takes all of us', a guide to volunteering and participation', is being launched throughout the borough in a bid to increase the number of people taking part in community life. It is believed that increased involvement in local organisations will also result in increased interest in local democracy.
Residents with an interest in improving community safety will be able to access information about groups such as Neighbourhood Watch or the Police Community Support Officer service.
Those with an interest in volunteering to help young people will be able to access information on some of the youth groups in the borough. The emphasis is not just on volunteering but on participating. Residents with an interest in participating in social activities can find details of how to join an orchestra or a reading group or become a friend of Opera Holland Park. The theory that encouraging people to play a greater role in their communities will also encourage them to vote is untested in
Kensington and Chelsea, and it is to test this supposition that the Council is working with the Kensington and Chelsea Volunteer Centre.
The volunteer centre traces its roots to 1969, when Lady Goodman set up the Volunteer Bureau with the aim of bringing together volunteers and organisations in need of volunteers. The bureau became the volunteer centre in 2005 but its central purpose has not changed.
Its key role is to act as a matchmaker between residents keen to volunteer and the organisations who need their help.
The centre offers opportunities that vary from helping at one-off events to long-term roles that use a variety of skills.
As part of the It takes all of us campaign, the centre will monitor the take up of the campaign in the Norland Ward where copies of
the guide have been delivered to every home.
The number of people volunteering from the Norland Ward will be measured to see if there is an increase in the number of volunteers coming forward in the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. This will be compared to the number of people from the ward who register to vote.
What do you think?
Do you think voter turnout matters? Do you think the pilot scheme has the potential to improve voter turnout? Email your comments on this story to: rbkcdirect@rbkc.gov.uk
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