Houses of Parliament
Knowledge about parliament too remains limited. Reuters

More than half of the British population is uninterested in politics, says a recent report released by Hansard Society.

The public is "disgruntled, disillusioned and disengaged" with politics than any time in the last 10 years, suggests the study. The survey was a part of the independent Hansard Society's annual audit of political engagement.

Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government programme and one of the authors of the report, said: "2011 was one the most turbulent and momentous years in recent history. But it appears that the economic crisis, the summer riots and phone hacking did not lead to any greater interest in or knowledge of politics."

The study shows only less than half of the population 41 per cent is interested in politics and one in three is not certain to vote in the next election.

"Coalition politics does not appear to have been good for public engagement. Worryingly, only a quarter of the population are satisfied with our system of governing, which must raise questions about the long-term capacity of that system to command public support and confidence in the future," Fox added.

Below are some of the statistics put out by the society.

  • 42 per cent say they are interested in politics (down 16 points, to the lowest level ever recorded in the nine-year Audit series)
  • 44 per cent say they are knowledgeable about politics (down 9 points)
  • 48 per cent say they are 'certain to vote' in the event of an immediate general election (down 10 points to the lowest level ever recorded in the Audit series)
  • 30 per cent say they are 'unlikely' or 'absolutely certain not' to vote (up 10 points)
  • Only 24 per cent think the system of governing works reasonably well (down 7 points)

While testing the respondents' knowledge on parliament, the figures are much similar to above. Knowledge about parliament remains stable at 40 per cent and the majority of them agreed on parliament's crucial part in democracy.

In the party-wise survey, Lib Dem supporters are the ones who have lost interest in their party. Their interest in politics has been hit the maximum.

  • Liberal Democrat supporters down 22 points to 50 per cent
  • Conservative supporters down 8 points to 65 per cent
  • Labour supporters down 12 points to 48 per cent

Also, only 46 per cent of Lib Dem supporters say they have knowledge about politics which has also come down by 15 points.

The above findings are based on 1,163 interviews and other focus groups.