General election turnout
The lowest turnout in a general election was recorded in 1918 at 57.2%, due to the end of the First World War. Between 1922 and 1997 turnout remained above 71%. At the 2001 general election the turnout was 59.4%; in 2005 it was 61.4%; in 2010 it was 65.1%; and in 2015 it was 66.1%.
Electoral Commission reports
The Electoral Commission has published reports examining whether changing the current arrangements for voting will encourage more people to vote and there have been a number of pilots at local elections in recent years to try out some of the alternative measures suggested. These included:
allowing weekend voting
changing polling hours
opening polling stations in different locations
encouraging postal voting and early voting
The Hansard Society publishes an annual Audit of Political Engagement, which measures political engagement in Great Britain.
Page last updated August 2016.