We have seen in the previous chapter that individuals in Britain vary quite considerably both in their propensities to enter the political arena and in the styles of participation they espouse. There are those for whom political action is a major preoccupation even though they still clearly remain ‘ordinary citizens’ rather than becoming professional politicians. Conversely, there are others, far more typical of the generality of British adults, who remain relatively passive. They may be aware of the political world, especially at election times, but find no real place in it for themselves. Some citizens, in other words, exercise their rights to be heard fully and repeatedly while others remain more or less silent.

Why is this so? What leads some people to participate and others not? This is a key question which lies at the heart of how mass involvement in the political system comes about. Views about the prospects for something more than the modest levels of participation currently found in Britain may be affected by any understanding that can be gained of what in fact drives people to action.

As was suggested in chapter 1, there are two very broad possibilities to be considered. One is that participation is promoted by issues. Individuals may differ significantly in the extent to which they perceive issues about which they feel sufficiently moved to take some form of public action.