Davy Jones Consultancy

....they will queue round the block for hours to vote in an election.

Inspiration from America

What an inspiring sight to see millions of young, poor and black and Hispanic Americans voting in an election who have never bothered before. Why this time - because they really believed it would make a difference and pull the country back from its obsession with waging wars and its subservience to the interests of the rich and powerful. Let's hope they are not disappointed.

And therein lies the most important lesson for everyone interested in citizen involvement: when and only when they feel it will make a difference will we see substantial numbers of people getting involved. So often, they have been presented with false consultations when the decision has already been taken. So often, they have been presented with political parties who basically agree on the fundamentals and only argue over personalities and 2nd rate issues. So often, they have been disappointed when nothing really changes. Yet even in this historic US election, over a third of people could not be bothered to cast a vote.

Contrast to elections in this country

The electoral turnout in some wards in Liverpool earlier this year was just nine per cent. Why ? Essentially, people see no real difference between the three main parties in the city as far as their lives are concerned. As long as they see things that way, it will be an uphill struggle to get them to believe it is worth their time and effort to vote or get involved.

We can't rely on a once in a generation election to get people excited. Sometimes, more modest things can galvanise people.

Participatory Budgeting

The reason why Participatory Budgeting (PB) can be so effective is it breaks the cycle of wasted involvement as people see their involvement and their vote literally making a difference. It can be a powerful way to begin to re-establish trust in the democratic process. Whenever a successful local participation event has been held, it is essential to spread the word far and wide. Word of mouth will be important too, but getting the message across that involvement makes a difference is tremendously important.

Then the next time, more people might take the chance to offer their time.