Participation and engagement of people with a learning disability in the lead up to the 2015 general election

Abstract

Purpose – As a commentary on the article by Ian Hood, the purpose of this paper is to consider participation of people with a learning disability in the lead-up to the 2015 UK general election. It looks at available data on participation and the barriers people face to engagement in the national debate, the process of registering to vote as well as voting itself. Design/methodology/approach – A number of initiatives taken to increase participation are considered and their success evaluated. Available data on participation and previous research are also considered. Findings – It is possible to boost the numbers of people engaged in voting and related activities. More research is needed to look at the impact of moving to a system of individual electoral registration and at whether overall participation by people with a learning disability is increasing over time. The barriers identified need to be tackled if people with a learning disability are to be more fully engaged in voting and the national political debate. Originality/value – Findings will be of particular value to those organisations and individuals interested in increasing the proportion of people with learning disabilities voting in future elections.