If you want to know what voters are thinking you have to go and ask them

FUNNY things politicians. They have a habit of getting friendly once every four or five years – and then you see very little of them. Active engagement with the public really seems to count only when they are fighting an election, whether it is here or in the UK.

They wander the streets, often doing a knock and run on people's doors or, on the off-chance they meet someone on the way to the shop, they shake hands and stroll away mumbling something about bigots under their breath.

It is often said that we are in an enviable position in the island, able to pick up the phone or see our deputies easily.

But that is a one-way street.

The fault is not always on the side of the States.

There is a palpable sense of frustration from our political masters that the public really starts to engage only as the sun sets on a policy.

Take waste.

Why weren't there hundreds of protesters lining the steps of the Royal Court building last July?

For that matter, where is the public now?

On Thursday afternoon there was only one person in the public gallery, other than reporters.

The waste protests were hailed as a re-engagement with the political process. Sadly, they look more like a flash in the pan every passing day.

A review of how the States engages with the public was held in 2005.

That showed that the States did not fully grasp and encourage the opportunity.

A 2007 follow-up by Scrutiny found that progress had been limited.

The review stated that there was a need for a culture to be developed within the States whereby complaints and comments from the public were valued, dealt with appropriately and used as a management tool.

Have things improved since then?

It appears that no great strides have been made and where progress has been seen with exercises like Guernsey Tomorrow, it is difficult to see what impact that has actually had.

As highlighted in this column and then the States last week, there are no real signs that Frossard House has a culture of releasing information to islanders unless it absolutely has to.

So can voters start to become more engaged and the States more open?

And can lessons be learnt from overseas?

The UK General Election has also brought people power, public involvement and communication to the fore.

The Conservatives are making much of Big Society.

David Cameron wants to encourage 'little platoons of civil society' to start new schools, take control of parks and libraries and run health services – although the question remains whether the man on the street really wants this responsibility anyway.

All three parties have spoken about giving the public the right to sack their MP.

And then there are the televised party leaders' debates.

The media has become obsessed with the idea that these have been real game-changers.

For the Liberal Democrats, so often starved of the limelight, that may well prove to be the case this week.

What you cannot get away from is that millions of people tuned in to find out more.

But again this is a once-in-an-election-cycle flash in the pan.

The only real way to know what individuals want is to go out there and ask them, not to sit back and hope people speak up.

It would be eye-opening if two years into a term of office our deputies took to the streets again with their walking routes in hand and revisited those electors they were so keen to talk to when they needed their vote.

They could take their manifestos with them and point out how they have matched those aspirations.

It may prove sobering to some, or it may give them the fillip to carry on with what they are doing.

We are at that halfway point for this Assembly now with significant criticism that it is the worst-ever States.

What reaction would deputies get now if they were to knock on islanders' doors and ask for support?