The Sir Bernard Crick Centre and Shout Out UK video explores anti-politics and political disengagement, so why do we hate politics?
Professor Matthew Flinders, Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, has explored public attitudes towards politics and politicians in a new video, released with Shout Out UK and Democracy Matters, and funded by the ESRC.
The short video is aimed at 16-24 year olds, and is the first in a series of videos which aim at making complex issues accessible to a new audience, and promoting debate. Following on from “Why do we hate politics” will be videos on the UK’s constitutional future; and our place in the European Union. The videos form part of a wider ESRC Knowledge Exchange project which included a series of “Discussing Democracy” public events held across the UK between July and December 2015, led by Titus Alexander, Convener of Democracy Matters.
Professor Flinders said: “Against a backdrop of long-term trends of falling voter turnout, low trust in politicians and dissatisfaction with the political system, I wanted to explore why people might hate politics and politicians. This video seeks to cut through the academic jargon and consider what practical steps can be done to restore public trust and boost political engagement.
The Sir Bernard Crick Centre is the world’s first centre for the public understanding of politics, so I am delighted to work with Shout Out UK and Democracy Matters to push the boundaries of academic research into a format that’s easy for the public to access and connect with”.
Matteo Bergamini, Founder and Director of Shout Out UK said: “The academic world and society has not always seen eye to eye. These videos aim to showcase the work of academics in a simple, fun and easy way so that we can all understand an otherwise, quite complex topic.
With this first one, we explore why the UK is being plagued by falling voter turnout and a growing dislike for traditional politics. It has been a pleasure working with the Crick centre and Democracy Matters on this project as it is very important to create a bridge between researchers and the rest of society.”
The Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics is an inter-disciplinary and externally facing research centre for the analysis and promotion of democratic innovation and inclusive, engaged citizenship. The ESRC designated the Crick Centre as a Knowledge Exchange in July 2015, and it is at the centre of an exciting new drive to connect the best ESRC-funded research with public debate and foster involved citizenship, particularly in disadvantaged communities. By translating some world leading research findings, the Crick Centre hopes to help people understand what’s happening and join the debate.
Shout Out UK is an award winning independent news network that, via journalism, film, events and education, connects one of the largest network of intelligent, adventurous and career driven young people. Responsible for Britain’s first ever Youth Leaders’ Debate in 2015, which aired on Channel 4’s All4 and started trending in the top six on twitter within 20min, Shout Out UK aims to show young people that politics has a direct impact on everything you do in life, with the aim of lowering political apathy among the next generation.
