97% registered and 85% voted in The referendum because:
A) it was a very important issue; and
B) every individual vote counted.
Had the polls been suggesting say a 80/20 split in favour of independence, then many No voters may not have bothered to vote (I say only 'may'), but that would not have mattered. They would have been on the losing side, but they would know that the result was by an overwhelming majority. The only thing they would have lost would be the exercise of walking to and from the polling station.
Contrast the above with a typical British General Election.
First,the "first past the post" system means that an MP can win with as little as 30% of the vote. Governments can govern with not much more and very rarely do they have a majority of all votes cast. This means that the majority of voters know that in most elections their vote will have no effect whatsoever, in the same way that Scottish "yes" voters were alienated by what they perceived as Westminster's in-built majority of English conservatives. This has not always been true but that is neither here nor there so long as governments appear to govern for their own narrow sectional interests).
Second, even a died-in-the-wool party activist does not know what he or she is voting for as parties do not, and cannot, set out in a manifesto any more than the most general of philosophies and few detailed policies. Politics is inherently a devious and dishonest business:
1. Parties are coalitions, deals have to be done and inevitably compromises on policies made ( this happens between parties as well of course, and not only in overt coalitions)
2. If parties stuck to their (usually fundamentalist) views, then they would not achieve broad-enough acceptance at the polls to be elected.
3. they have no idea what is going to happen during the next 5 years. Most of the biggest issues are those forced on us from the outside; economic recessions, natural disasters, wars, etc.
So if you don't know what you are voting for and you don't expect the vote cast, on previous experience, to have any effect, then it is not surprising that turnouts are not higher. Indeed, it is surprising that they are as high as they are in General Elections.
You can add to the above the fact that 80% of what governments, and probably a higher percentage of local governments, do is a given, irrespective of party. What voters are looking for therefore are good managers, and not point-scoring politicians.
All the above is before we take on board the decline in trust of polices generally, whether it be for broken promises, expense scandals or inappropriate behaviour. If you add all this to the mix then it is not surprising that many people don't bother to vote.
The answer? There is probably not one answer, but there are some moves in the right direction.
The British parties response to the Scottish referendum should be honest and open, not one knocked together behind closed, even if no longer smoked-filled, rooms.
Any attempt by the Labour party to prevaricate until after the next election is unacceptable. Whatever they say, the benefit of retaining the votes of Labour MPs is obvious to everyone.
Any move to link reform in England to the promises made to Scotland is unacceptable.
Notwithstanding the above, more democracy is required across the British Isles. This means devolving power to local authorities, which don't have to be new levels do government, to the closest to local people that is consistent with effectiveness, and more referendums.
For the future, here are some proposals:
Corporation tax and VAT are better at common rates across the nation (better across the EU but that will be some time coming), sufficient to support central government and common services, but that does not preclude additional local income or sales taxes.
Referenda on big topics should become common. In addition to government-sponsored referenda, 5 million signatures is more than enough to be able to requisition one.
Proportional representation (multi-party single transferable vote) should replace first past the post. Big parties will lose out as voters will be able to influence who they choose as candidates and parties will not be in power if they don't try to represent the majority. If this is does not happen then what about open primaries?
But whatever happens, if politicians at Westminster do not now step up to the mark the constitutional problems in this country will be far worse than those represented by the threatened Scottish independence, though this will also no doubt also be back on the agenda.
