Why British party leaders think the only to go way is Essex

Joey Essex, one of the stars of The Only Way Is Essex, is, by all accounts, quite a nice bloke, although his new-found interest in the world of British politics has caused the cognoscenti to sneer.

In recent days, some Westminster colleagues have had the task of breaking Essex gently into the arcane world of the democratic process, sometimes in 6.15am telephone calls.

It has not been an entirely easy process. Essex confesses to not being able to read a clock, while he also claims that he discovered the name of the British prime minister only in the last couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, politicians have swooned, or, at least, hid their weariness in his presence since the campaign began, believing that Essex could help in reaching the parts of British society that no one else can manage.

He has photographs taken outside the door of 10 Downing Street. The Liberal Democrats deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has attempted to explain to him what his party is about.

Clegg deserves credit for being polite and for keeping a straight face: “Why are they called Liberal Democats? It’s a long word, innit?” Essex asked.

Having thought for a while, he went on: “It’s a weird word, innit? It’s got cats in it.”

Listening to all of the above, one could quickly lose faith in the democratic process, but the evidence shows that the majority of British voters are more engaged than one might think.

Discussing politics

In England, nearly 40 per cent talked about how the United Kingdom was governed in the three months before they were questioned for an in- depth survey by the University of Edinburgh. Nearly a third discussed it with friends.

Reflecting the unwillingness to navigate potentially tricky territory with colleagues at work, the survey found that just 13 per cent of English brought up the question of politics at the desk or in the canteen.

In fact, the public is prepared to become engaged in debates about how the UK is governed, although researchers found that this willingness “is at odds with the views expressed by many of the elites”.

“They care, even though the constitution might not be top of their immediate policy interests,” says the university’s academy of government. “They believe the question is worth considering at length.”

The differences between England and Scotland come through again and again in the survey. There, just a fifth have spoken to no one about such issues; two-thirds have done so with friends, while nearly a third spoke to colleagues.

Two-thirds of Scots aged 18 or 19 intend to go to the polling station on May 7th. Even 57 per cent of those aged 20-24 – usually an age group where politics rarely rears its head – intend to vote.

Educated voter

Generally, the more educated the voter, the more likely they are to vote, although Scots who left school with a basic secondary education are as likely as university students elsewhere in the UK to exercise their franchise.

“Once again, this may be a legacy of the referendum debate, in which not only was turnout high but so also was the level of engagement in debate: that process was itself educational for a very large number of citizens,” the research says.

The engagement in Scotland has taken place on both sides of the debate – not just on the side of those who wanted independence: 86 per cent of those who voted Yes debate the question, compared with 77 per cent of those who voted No.

However, significant differences are found when those surveyed were asked if they were certain to vote: 79 per cent of those who defined themselves as “Scottish not British” said they would, compared with 67 per cent of those who said they were “British not Scottish”.

For now, Essex's education in the hands of Isabel Hardman of the Spectator and others continues – the ambition is that he can be brought to a point on May 7th where he wants to vote and knows why.

Arguments

Defending Essex from the sneers, Hardman says by meeting the TV star, Clegg was trying to get an audience that never engages with politics to understand why it is important.

“Politics is about making and winning arguments, it’s also about persuading people to listen to those arguments, rather than sneering at them because you’ve made it difficult to follow,” she adds.