Mencap: “It’s time for politicians to use language that people they represent can understand”
2nd February 2010: More than 90 per cent of the voting population in the UK can’t understand phrases used in political literature, a new survey published by Mencap shows.
The learning disability charity published the survey as it launched its’ ‘Get My Vote campaign’ urging politicians to stop using complex language, particularly as the political parties release their manifestos in the run up to the general election.
Mencap’s survey consisted of 12 phrases from a range of political manifestos including the three main political parties. When asked what the phrases meant, more than 90 per cent of people could not answer six or more correctly, with 68 per cent unable to explain more than three meanings correctly. More shockingly, more than a quarter of civil servants asked (26 per cent) did not know what any of the political phrases meant.
While rural proofing means a process of checking the effects of policies and projects on rural areas and ensuring people and companies in rural areas are not discriminated against, some of the interviewed people said it means the fence to stop city slickers getting out.
Some said progressive consensus means being ripped off or wearing down the opposition while the right meaning is a convergence of political opinion with everyone agreeing we are heading in the right direction.
Another commonly misunderstood phrase is waste production stream which means the way councils deal with production and processing of all waste in local areas. Some of the interviewed people said it means a river that flows full of rubbish.
While affirmative action mechanism means an approach which seeks to address an imbalance in the representation of one or more groups by causing them to be preferred over other groups, some people said it means nodding or trying to get everyone to say yes.
Economic dynamism (A flexible financial economy) is another phrase those interviewed didn’t know its meaning. Some said it means a flash git who fiddles the accounts, lying through their teeth and moving goalposts.
Mencap’s ‘Get My Vote’ campaign aims to empower people with a learning disability to vote by persuading the political parties to make their manifestos and information easier to understand.
Many people commented that they didn’t understand what political parties stood for because of the difficult language used.
Ms. Esther Foreman, Campaigns manager at Mencap said: “The fact that 9 out of 10 people do not understand the language used by politicians reinforces the need for an end to the jargon that surrounds Westminster. It’s time for politicians to use language that people they represent can understand. Mencap believes that politicians have a responsibility to ensure that everyone, including people with a learning disability, can understand their policies so that they feel informed enough to vote. If they don’t, there is something very wrong with our democracy.”
In a recent Mencap study, 45 per cent of people said the reason they didn’t vote was because they didn’t understand what the parties were talking about.
Mencap works alongside learning disability charity United Response to campaign for equality for all. They want everyone to support and join the campaign by targeting local MPs to put pressure on all political parties to make politics more accessible.
Visit www.mencap.org.uk/edm and find out how you can help. MPs are already aware of the need to make political literature easier to understand, 87 have signed up to a parliamentary motion, and the number is growing.
