In encouraging postal voting, the British political class is attempting to contain the problem of voter apathy. The British political system is facing a major crisis of legitimacy, in which political parties have lost their social base. The size of the parties' core support has significantly diminished, and they have little direct relationship with any significant section of society. That's why we can have a general election that has meaning for virtually nobody outside the political establishment. The depth and scale of this problem is rarely acknowledged.
Experts act as if the public's disengagement from political life is a temporary phenomenon.
Some even try to cast this development in a positive light, claiming that the outdated 'old' politics has been replaced by consumer activism, and that a new dynamic participatory culture is about to emerge. Those who propose such technical measures refuse to consider the meaning of democratic participation, and evade the question of what the role of a responsible citizen is. Instead they sanction practices that are tantamount to cheating on democracy. As long as people 'vote', it seems, the emperor can pretend that he is wearing the clothes of democracy. Usually during an election, the only concern of political parties is to win the contest.