Stuart Weir & Andrew Blick (Cambridge & London, Democratic Audit): It is remarkable that empirical study of power in the UK remains almost uncharted territory. Yet for democrats political and economic power in the United Kingdom and world outside is vital - it shapes and limits the depth and quality of our democracy and constitutes the very fabric of politics, and of society itself, determining how the benefits, opportunities and disadvantages of life in this country are shared between its inhabitants and communities.
The Carnegie UK Trust therefore deserves great credit for having decided to examine how political power actually works in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and in particular to review the opportunities for ordinary people to participate in public decision-making. Carnegie commissioned Democratic Audit to carry out a path-finding literature review of power and participation in the UK which, with an additional grant from the Lipman-Miliband Trust, we are able now to publish in pdf form on OurKingdom here.
Many of our findings will be familiar enough. Within the UK, the core executive, or government, wields great and often unaccountable power. This power is sealed in most circumstances by the governing party's majority in the House of Commons - an institution that also acts as bulwark against popular opinion. The City of London and corporate business exercise wide and continuing influence upon government, in part because of the global ideological environment. The media also exert influence upon government policies and the print media, in particular the Murdoch newspapers, clearly exercise political power - for example, on the Blair government's policies towards the EU. Participation by citizens and communities in the UK is as unequal as the distribution of power and resources in what is an increasingly unequal society. Rich and highly educated social groups tend to dominate associational life, or civil society, and benefit disproportionately from the influence that their organised activities can bring to bear. Social exclusion inhibits the participation of poor and disadvantaged communities and individuals.
But we also argue that participation in the UK is a buoyant and diverse phenomenon that involves a wide range of people. Overall we conclude that widening and deepening participation could lead to greater social justice, more effective public services and a society of self-confident citizens. Participation is assisted by a variety of ‘handles' on power that citizens can make use of - civil and political rights under the Human Rights Act; other rights and regulatory laws; a host of public and unofficial advocacy bodies; regulatory agencies; official mechanisms of redress; and so on; the media can further popular or community causes; and the internet gives huge opportunities for people to ‘join together' - an essential element in participation by less powerful people and communities. The trade unions, though greatly diminished in their spread and influence since the 1970s, can still provide representation and education for workers and support politically and socially valuable enterprises (though the workplace can be the site of gross manipulation of power).
Obviously, in a three-month exercise, we have only scratched the surface. But there are immediate as well as long-term implications of what we have found. If Gordon Brown is serious about creating a participatory democracy, then the government needs not only to address the fundamental social and economic inequalities and obstacles to wider involvement, but also to turn upside down the whole world of central government and quango-led control of local government.
There are a limited number of hard copies for sale at £12.50 inc. P&P from Democratic Audit, Denmore Lodge, Brunswick Gardens, Cambridge CB5 8DQ.
