Democratic deficit needs to be repaid

Rooted in a global trend of falling trust in the ability of politicians to deliver good government, it is based in part on major issues such as the financial crisis of 2008 and widening inequalities in wealth.

The sharp fall in trust, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, is then turbo-charged at a national level by events such as the Iraq War, the MPs’ expenses scandal and, of course, Brexit.

Social media plays its part, with ill-tempered arguments forcing people into ‘tribes’ where all nuance and compromise is lost.

Intriguingly, the report by the Centre for the Future of Democracy says that first-past-the-post voting systems such as the UK’s must bear some of the blame with its ‘majoritarian’ version of democracy giving the losers zero input.

Countries such as New Zealand, which use proportional representation, did not see the same drop, presumably because people feel they retain a voice, win or lose.

Although there are no local statistics, there is every reason to suspect a growing democratic deficit in these islands. Global events such as the financial crash will have an effect here, as well as major national issues such as Brexit.

Social media has a strong presence in Guernsey with often intemperate criticism of deputies on Facebook groups, news websites and Twitter.

The strength of public feeling that leads many islanders to cry ‘Worst States ever’ with increasing regularity clearly played a part in the referendum vote to switch to an island-wide voting system. Islanders felt that the parish system was failing their democratic needs.

Whether June’s general election will improve their mood is open to question. Guernsey will have a unique voting system that is both individual and party orientated.

It is possible that a party will put forward 21 candidates and sweep the board in a ‘majoritarian’ coup. But, even if it did, it is unlikely deputies could be held together without a whipping system.

Much more likely is a system where voters will see many of their candidates elected, each giving them more of ‘a voice’ in government.

Whether that is enough to rebuild trust in politics remains to be seen.