POWER

The POWER Inquiry was set up in 2004 to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain. Its work is based on the primary belief that a healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens.

Since the historically unprecedented decline in turnout in 2001 many political organisations have put considerable effort into analysing the roots of voter abstention and the current state of political engagement in the UK. This widely shared concern over declining electoral turnout is our starting point for a broader investigation into the health of the connections between the public and the political process.

The Inquiry was set up with the aim to understand why the decline in popular participation and involvement in formal politics has occurred and to provide concrete and innovative proposals to reverse the trend.

POWER is funded and has been established by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Limited, to mark their centenary year. POWER marks a continuation of their work in funding and galvanising social and democratic reform.

POWER developed a set of proposals and recommendations to increase and deepen political participation, which were presented in our final report - Power to the People - published in February 2006. The report is based on primary and secondary research, and, crucially, evidence submitted by the public themselves.

No. POWER is completely independent of any political party or organisation. The Commission is made up of people from the left, right and centre of politics, and mostly of people with no particular party political affiliation.

Widespread public input into POWER’s deliberations and final recommendations was central to its work.

Members of the public came forward to hold over 450 'Democracy Dinners' nationwide to discuss Inquiry key questions and the future for British politics; volunteers organised their own events through the Power Ambassador scheme; many attended Power's public witness session to listen and offer their own responses; an Inquiry Pack was distributed widely through public organisations and to those who registered their interest (this asked key questions, explained how individuals or groups might go about developing answers, and offered resources and support); a Citizens’ Panel of thirty randomly selected people in Newcastle-Gatehead deliberated on the issues of the Inquiry in parallel to the Commission.

Evidence was taken up to autumn 2005. All evidence was made available to the Inquiry Commission in its original form. The Inquiry research team also identified key themes arising from all evidence and presented these to the Commission.

The political establishment are deeply worried by the growing disconnection between public and politics in Britain. Powerful figures have shown a great deal of interest in the Inquiry and its findings. Input into the POWER Inquiry has been part of a process that will change Britain's democracy for the better.