Since at least the end of the Second World War, we’ve lived in an era of the mass political party. In the 1950s, three million people were members of the Conservative Party, and over a million of the Labour Party. 84% of the electorate turned out to vote, and most thought it was their democratic and civic duty to do so.

Politics has changed. Today, less than 1% of the electorate is a member of a political party. At the end of 2013, Labour had around 190,000 members and the Conservatives – reportedly – 150,000. Notwithstanding recent surges in UKIP, SNP and, latterly, Green Party membership, the long decline of formal party membership is clear and general. Underneath this decline in membership has been a decline in trust. 85% of British citizens distrust political parties. And it’s not just the UK. 73% do so in Germany, and 89% in France.

This shift is mostly generational. Young people are the least likely to have voted, for instance, in the 2009 European Parliament election, and the least likely to believe it is their duty to do so. They are also the least likely to be a member of a political party. Yet young people are not politically apathetic. Research conducted by Demos over the last few years has found that most young people care about political questions, are keen to play a role in the political process, and want to make their community and country a better place. However, they are going elsewhere to do politics and to try to make a difference. The place they are increasingly turning to is outside of mainstream politics, and on to the internet and social media.