Political communication was not examined in detail, but it was explored through
interviews with former politicians (including a former Prime Minister of an EU
member country), the secretary-general of a major European political party,
discussions with media advisers of politicians in Australia and the UK, and
meetings with a range of industry and community organisations engaged in
public affairs.
A retort made by interviewees to the criticism that there is a lack of listening
by organisations including governments was that politicians listen to their
constituents through a range of electoral activities, as well as through research
and other channels. The use of research has been discussed already in the
first section of ‘Findings – Organisational Listening Project Stage 2’, noting a
reliance on quantitative research, particularly polls that yield superficial and
often unrepresentative findings.
In relation to the broader argument that politicians listen to stakeholders
and citizens in elections and processes of political representation such as
meetings with constituents, research for this study revealed that politicians
and many of their key advisers rely primarily on two key reference points and
sources of information in forming their understanding of social and political
reality as follows.
Traditional media – All politicians and politicians’ media advisers
interviewed indicated that traditional media were major sources of
information about issues and constituent attitudes and concerns, as well
as channels for information dissemination. In the UK, Number 10 Downing
Street has planned its media communication since the early 2000s using
what is known as ‘The Grid’. This is a spreadsheet listing known events,
announcements, and other activities that are likely to be of interest to
media into which media advisers schedule their activities so as to avoid
clashes with other newsworthy activities. To some extent, ‘The Grid’ is
simply a schedule to ensure that all parts of the government know what is
happening and coordinate announcements. However, for critics it is much
more than that. Many see it as a tool for manipulation of media. In terms of
this discussion, the key issue of concern is that political and government
communication are heavily influenced by ‘The Grid’ and the associated
media strategies conceived in Number 10 Downing Street and promulgated
throughout Ministries and government departments. ‘The Grid’ and the
focus of most media advisers and ‘press officers’ (as the name suggests)
is on gaining headlines and coverage in major media, and on monitoring
the news stories, editorials, and opinion columns of so-called mainstream
media – major newspapers, TV networks, and radio. However, many such
media are increasingly not mainstream. While newspapers, TV, and radio
remain important channels of public communication, the circulation and
ratings of most traditional media have been in severe decline for more than
a decade. Many sectors of society, such as young people, increasingly do not
40 CREATING A ‘DEMOCRACY FOR EVERYONE’
Findings – Organisational Listening Project (Stage 2)
read newspapers or watch TV for news and current affairs, relying instead
on a range of new media such as Facebook, YouTube, BuzzFeed, etc. Also,
many media groups have been shown to be partisan and politically biased.
Traditional media represent a declining percentage of citizens and often
reflect unrepresentative views.
Political parties – The other major source of information about citizens’
views, interests, needs, and attitudes for politicians is their political party.
Politicians are usually pre-selected (i.e., invited to stand for election) by
political parties. Many if not most of the policies adopted and advocated by
politicians emanate from their political parties. And, on a day to day basis,
politicians’ visits to their electorates, meetings, and many of the events that
they attend are arranged by their political party. However, the minuscule
proportion of citizens who are members of a political party – e.g., as noted
previously, the membership of the three major political parties in the
UK totals just 1.6% of eligible voters – means that this reference point
and source of citizen insight is also far from representative. Membership
data indicates that most political parties are declining political institutions.
In interviews conducted in Stage 1 of this study, the national secretary of
a European political party and a former prime minister both expressed
concern that parties are losing, or have lost, legitimacy and public support.
Along with their declining membership, the institutionalised practices of
political parties further erode their capacity to provide elected politicians
with reliable representative insights into citizens’ views, attitudes,
interests, and expectations. The party national secretary pointed to the
communication activities of political parties such as tours, visits, and
rallies during which the “party faithful” are organized to attend as ‘cheer
squads’ for MPs and members of Congress, and meetings with voters that
are attended by invitation only and ‘stacked’ with supporters. Dissenting
voices are usually removed – sometimes forcefully. As a result, politicians
engaging through their political party are often not listening to “real
people”. They are mostly hearing the loud voices of power elites and the
platitudes of sycophants because party ‘machines’ have turned politics
into highly organised, professionalised processes focussed on set piece
staged events and rehearsed forms of engagement (Anon, interview,
May 6, 2015).
The political party executive’s description of the political hustings reminds
one of the popular aphorism that the Queen of the UK and Commonwealth
countries believes that the whole world smells of fresh paint because
everywhere she goes has been painted in preparation for her visit. She
rarely if ever sees the back streets and ‘struggle streets’ of society.67
67 Mooney, D. (2011, May 19). Derek Mooney: Queen is nice, but it’s Obama we’re really
looking forward to. The Evening Herald, Dublin, Ireland. http://www.herald.ie/
incoming/derek-mooney-queen-is-nice-but-its-obama-were-really-looking-forwardto-
27980302.html, para. 11.
CREATING A ‘DEMOCRACY FOR EVERYONE’ 41
Findings – Organisational Listening Project (Stage 2)
42 CREATING A ‘DEMOCRACY FOR EVERYONE’
In reflecting on the citizen disengagement, lack of trust, and lack of listening
discussed in this report, some have speculated that ‘democracy is dead’68 in
some developed Western democracies, or that they are approaching the end
of democracy69 or what political scientist Colin Crouch calls post-democracy70.
However, while trust in and support for some traditional sites of political
participation are in decline, there is evidence that democracy is not dead or
ending. It has relocated to a substantial extent from traditional sites such
as mass media, political parties, and institutionalised trade, industry and
professional organisations to new types of social movements, community
groups, and activist organisations.
For example, a range of new types of social movements have formed and
are forming in many countries and sectors of society representing citizens. In
the UK today these include groups across a broad spectrum such as Fixers
(a national group of around 20,000 marginalised young people focussed on
‘fixing the future’ through more than 2,000 projects in England, Scotland, Wales,
and Northern Ireland); Flatpack Democracy (a grassroots political movement
focussed on reforming local government); A Blueprint for Better Business
(a group of mostly retired senior business executives campaigning for more
ethical and sustainable practices in business).
Also there are indications that volunteerism and activism are increasing (e.g.,
witness the rise of major protest movements following the controversial election
of Donald Trump as President of the USA).
Furthermore, there is a growing number of community organising and advisory
groups that assist citizens and communities exercise and amplify their voice
through media and other means such as Change.Org, The Company of
Community Organisers, Involve, and Keystone Accountability, which
operates to collect and analyse feedback through its Constituent Voice
methodology.
While these groups are not the focus of this study, they are noted because
the presence, growth, and active role of such organisations, along with social
media, indicate that the voice of citizens, including those in marginalised
sectors of society, is being raised in myriad ways. However, to matter, and have
value, politicians, government departments and agencies, and the myriad other
types of organisations that are central to complex industrial and post-industrial
societies, need to listen as defined in this report. Governments need to recognise
this shift in the sites of democratic participation to listen effectively and remain
in touch with their constituents.
68 Hendriks, C. (2016, December 6). Who says democracy is dead? Canberra, ACT:
Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. Retrieved from https://
crawford.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/8965/who-says-democracy-dead
69 Hix, S. (2003). The end of democracy in Europe. Working paper. London, UK: London
School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved from http://personal.lse.
ac.uk/hix/Working_Papers/Hix-End_of_Democracy_in_Europe.pdf; Buchanan, N.
(2016, November 25). Are we witnessing the end of democracy? Newsweek Europe.
Retrieved from http://europe.newsweek.com/neil-buchanan-are-we-witnessing-enddemocracy-
524169?rm=eu
70 Crouch, C. (2004). Post-democracy. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Findings – Organisational Listening Project (Stage 2)
CREATING A ‘DEMOCRACY FOR EVERYONE’ 43
Continuing failure of democratic governments and institutions to listen
effectively will exacerbate the declining trust and disengagement in traditional
political institutions and processes, and is likely to lead to further ‘hung’
parliaments71, shock elections results, activism, and even radicalisation and
extremism. A democracy ‘for everyone’ may never be fully achievable, but better
listening can create meaningful engagement and participation and contribute
to more representative policy making, and ultimately a more inclusive and
equitable society.
- Postscript
While much of the most recent stage of this research project has focussed on the
UK Government, and to some extent the European Commission, and therefore
the findings are not generalisable, the scope of Stage 1 of this research and the
literature reviewed suggest that the issues raised apply to many organisations
in the both the public and private sectors to some if not a large extent.
The extent to which organisations may or may not address the issues raised
will depend on a number of factors, starting with their culture. As identified in
defining organisational listening and proposing an architecture of listening, the
first key element of organisational listening is that an organisation, particularly
its senior management, must want to listen and engage with stakeholders
and publics.
In that context, and in the interests of fairness and balance, a comment needs to
be made about the participants in this research. Despite this study being critical
and exposing a number of failures in public communication, the individuals and
organisations involved participated in an open, constructive way, acting with
goodwill and commendable commitment to the public interest at all times. In
many cases, the participants were proactive in seeking to improve processes
and implement change, and responded positively and even enthusiastically
rather than defensively to recommendations. The culture exhibited in the UK
civil service, in particular, and observed in the European Commission, was a
positive and pleasing discovery in this research project that deserves noting
and recording as an overall finding.
The Executive Director of the UK Government Communication Service, Alex
Aiken, actively engaged with the research and, while challenging some specific
conclusions, demonstrated leadership in both supporting the research in the
first instance and in supporting implementation of the pilot projects. The other
civil service staff acknowledged in the front of this report, as well as many
others working behind the scenes, also deserve recognition for their openness
to change and improvement.
The pilot projects that are briefly outlined in this report are evidence of that
openness and commitment to change and improve, and they provide examples
of how democracy can be reinvigorated and made to work for everyone and
create a society for everyone.
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