Vox Political‘s series on VE Day ran a little longer than we expected – but nearly two weeks after we started, here’s the last article:

80 years ago, Britain celebrated victory over fascism. Today, many are asking whether the democracy we fought for still exists in any meaningful form.

After World War II, the UK emerged battered but determined.

The war had galvanised the public into demanding real change: a welfare state, nationalised industries, and a government that worked for everyone.

The people had fought tyranny abroad — and wanted to build a fairer society at home.

It was an era defined by engagement.

People voted in record numbers.

Political discourse flourished in pubs, union halls and town squares.

Local councils were visible and answerable.

Members of Parliament, though not perfect, knew they served at the pleasure of an informed and vocal electorate.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the picture is starkly different.

The death of civic engagement

Fewer and fewer people feel their vote counts.

Local elections attract pitiful turnouts.

General elections are increasingly fought over slogans, not policies.

Once-active communities now shrug, scroll, and sigh — demoralised by years of unkept promises and opaque governance.

Where once a letter to your MP might bring a reply, now many MPs block constituents on social media or delegate replies to junior staffers. This Writer’s own attempts to contact the current Labour government often go months without reply, and some have required repeated prompts in order to elicit any response at all.

Public consultations often feel like box-ticking exercises.

Democracy is being reduced to a five-yearly ballot and little more.

Centralisation and control

Westminster has been hoarding power.

Local councils, stripped of funding, have seen their ability to make meaningful change all but erased.

Regional voices are ignored — unless they echo the government line.

Devolution was meant to give power back to the people, but many devolved authorities are under-resourced, undermined, or overruled.

And “Levelling Up” — the former Tory government’s flagship regeneration project — has, in many areas, been little more than a slogan.

Accountability? What accountability?

Ministerial resignations used to be a cornerstone of British political accountability.

Now, scandals come and go with barely a dent in careers.

Contracts worth billions are handed out without scrutiny.

Lobbying scandals fade into memory without reform.

The revolving door between politics, lobbying, and big business spins faster than ever.

Whistleblowers are ignored or punished.

Journalists who challenge power are often labelled “activists” and dismissed.

Public inquiries are delayed, denied, or buried.

Surveillance and suppression

In the name of security, protest rights have been curtailed.

Surveillance powers have expanded.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, along with other recent legislation, gives authorities unprecedented powers to limit peaceful dissent.

Activists are arrested pre-emptively. Protesters are demonised in the press. Civil liberties — once a proud British value — are now treated as optional, conditional, expendable.

Digital democracy? Or digital distraction?

While technology promised a more connected, informed public, it has often delivered the opposite: polarisation, misinformation, and manipulation.

Social media platforms amplify outrage and drown nuance.

Algorithms replace editorial judgement.

And AI tools, if not governed responsibly, threaten to obscure truth even further.

In such a landscape, citizens find it harder than ever to distinguish fact from fiction, accountability from spin.

What did we fight for?

On VE Day in 1945, the streets were filled with joy, but also with hope for a better future — one where government would serve the people, not the powerful.

It was a hard-won victory for democracy over dictatorship.

But today, democracy in Britain feels anaemic.

Decisions are made far from public view.

Corporate interests dominate.

Politicians dodge scrutiny and dodge consequences.

So we must ask ourselves:

Are we truly free if we cannot hold power to account?

Are we truly democratic if our voices are not heard?

Over to you

What do you think has happened to democracy in the UK?

Do you remember a time when it felt different — stronger, fairer, more accountable?

Did your parents or grandparents talk about what it meant to have a voice in society?

We want to hear from you.

Comment below or email us directly – [email protected] – and let’s start reclaiming the power that should never have been given away.