Does Britain have a participation crisis?

For	Evidence	Against	Evidence
Turnout was historically low	Only 52.8% of the voting-age population voted in 2024 – the lowest since universal suffrage	A majority of registered voters still participated	59.9% of registered voters cast a ballot in 2024
Large inequalities in turnout	Turnout gap of 18 percentage points between constituencies with most vs fewest over-64s	Older and wealthier groups remain highly engaged	Constituencies with high rates of homeowners had 63% turnout vs 42% in renting areas
Class and housing divide	Renters are more than twice as likely to say voting isn’t worth it compared to homeowners	Political engagement varies but persists across groups	Minority ethnic areas still saw turnout above 40% of the voting-age population
Ethnic and religious disparities	Turnout was 14 points lower in areas with large minority ethnic populations; 16 points lower in heavily Muslim areas	Participation patterns reflect demographics, not necessarily disengagement	Higher turnout in older/wealthier/white constituencies suggests participation is selective, not absent
Non-voters would be the largest “party”	If counted together, non-voters outnumbered all parties in 2024	Political mobilisations can still shift trends	The report notes that populist moments can bring many non-voters into politics