Does the UK suffer from a participation crisis?

Define what a participation crisis is and why it is important;A lack in public engagement in politics, this can include a lack of voting in general elections, membership in pressure groups decreasing, or less petitions being signed. Participation is vital for a democracy to function, as if the public are not being represented, the government loses all democratic legitimacy - or mandate.There is a participation crisis;The average turnout for a general election since 2001 has been 61%. This means that a large portion of the population will not have their views represented in government, which can lead to politicians acting in their own interest - very undemocratic.Membership in pressure groups has declined - in 1980 4.2% of pop (1.69m) member but in 2010 only 0.8% (397,000)The nature of party politics currently means that people are not loyal to their parties - party dealignment - which can lead to a sense of cynicism as people do not want to vote for anyone as there is a sense of distrust. This can also lead to voter apathy.There is not a participation crisis;It could be argued that the nature of public participation is changing, and people are moving beyond the traditional means of being involvedThere has been a significant increase in the number of protests and marches; the 1 Million March, Extinction Rebellion, Brexit marches, NHS strikes, 2010 student tuition fees marches.Since Brexit, there has been record breaking numbers of people watching the debates in the Commons and the courts. More people are watching these broadcasts than they were MTV, which is unprecedented.There have been 2 historic referendums; Scottish Independence in which there was the highest turnout for a UK referendum ever at 84.6%, and the Brexit referendum where 72.2% of those eligible voted.Conclusion;The nature of public engagement is rapidly changing, and these levels of participation are an effect of people's discontent with government, as seen by the number of protests. It can be argued then that regardless of the cause, people have become far more engaged in politics since 2016 and therefore does not suffer from a participation crisis.