This month the leaders of the educational trust at the centre of the alleged ‘Trojan Horse’ schools takeover resigned, but the repercussions from the scandal in which they were embroiled persist.

Notably, the scandal prompted government ministers to call on schools to teach and promote British values. Leading a Westminster Hall debate on the issue, senior Labour member of parliament John Denham said that: ‘We need a conscientious focus on nation-building’. The irony is, of course, that with education devolved in the UK the government’s plans may only affect schools in England.

Schools in England are currently required to respect British values. From September 2014, however, schools will be expected to go further – for example, by being required to teach pupils about democracy, set up school councils, organise visits to councils and parliament, and hold mock elections. Many schools already do these, but ministers have said that ensuring all schools do could help tackle extremism – it could also help improve engagement in the political process in the longer term.

With only 35.4 per cent of those eligible to vote in this year’s European elections choosing to do so, low turnout provoked much debate about the health of our democracy. Some, including the first minister of Scotland, suggested that compulsory voting could improve the situation. The reality, however, is that compulsory voting – as exists in 11 countries including Australia – would mask rather than resolve existing problems.

The right to vote is also the right not to vote; voting should involve the positive endorsement of a policy platform. There would be practical hurdles too: communities, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, opt not to vote and forcing them to do so would surely against the British values that supporters of this move seek to preserve.

Rather than forcing the electorate to engage in this way, we should move to a model of republican citizenship where citizens actively engage through choice. Citizenship has been viewed in the UK as a legal status, as liberal citizenship, where political participation is only ever a means of protecting personal liberty. The UK government’s 2008 review of citizenship conducted by Peter Goldsmith considered citizenship primarily as a legal status, for example. By contrast, republican citizenship is centred on the idea of civic self-rule with citizens actively participating in the processes of decision-making.

While this appears abstract, citizenship goes to the core: to the purpose of our government, to the direction we want our country to take and fundamentally to what binds us together. Understanding what citizenship means in 2014 may go some way to combatting voter apathy.

In terms similar to those of John Denham, during his premiership, Gordon Brown called for a narrative of Britishness. His claims that British solidarity were underwritten by distinct British values were criticised as being politically expedient due to his personal predicament as a Scottish prime minister. But as the fallout from the ‘Trojan Horse’ scandal exemplifies the issues he highlighted were real and salient.

With this in mind, moves to promote British values in schools across the UK should be supported. Building a healthy and democratic one nation requires the introduction of compulsory citizenship education that explains the history, purpose and mechanics of our elections – local, devolved, general and European – as well as the significant issues and key players. The public need to know who does what and why, and we need to start young. In addition to being taught, students must be given an opportunity to debate the issues – actively learning what it means to be a UK citizen, experiencing British values first-hand. Teaching British values in school is key to improving the health of our democracy.

Ed Miliband’s commitment to votes at 16 would only aid this. Already in Scotland ahead of the referendum in September, in which 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote, young people are actively engaging in the political process – with debates and polls taking place in schools, colleges and universities.

Improving community cohesion and tackling voter apathy are two of the major challenges facing politicians. They have no simple fix, but improving engagement in the democratic process through comprehensive citizenship education could help in both cases. Just as republican citizenship breaks down barriers between private individuals and political beings, so too this measure could help bridge the gap between the public and the political class.

Dan Sharp is a Labour party member and works in parliament as as a researcher to a member of parliament

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Photo: Mike Lambert