Public opinion can have various effects on how policy is made or viewed. Marcus Hobley sifts through the sometimes troubled relationship

Views on the use and role of public opinion in forming policy can often be as diverse as the opinions themselves. Winston Churchill took the view that there was "no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion". While Abraham Lincoln's take was simply: "Public opinion in this country is everything".

Foreign policy provides an interesting starting point, with historical examples showing where public opinion has and hasn't affected government polices.

On 15 February 2003, the UK's biggest ever public demonstration in opposition to the looming invasion of Iraq was held. The scale of anti-war sentiment surged globally as demonstrations became a worldwide phenomenon. While these mass public displays did not change Britain's policy, they have been cited as a key factor in influencing the decision of the Canadian government to keep their troops out of the Iraq conflict.

As demonstrated during Tony Blair's evidence to the Leveson inquiry, a consequence of ignoring public opinion is the public's long memory, which can hold their leaders to account for their decisions long after leaving office.

It has even been claimed that public opinion has the ability to change the course of history. In the midst of the great US depression, Franklin D Roosevelt's reluctance to join the anti-German war effort was finally decided by the bombing of Pearl Harbour. This event changed everything in the hearts and mind of the American public, giving the president the public support he needed.

So how do today's public leaders better use public opinion to achieve their ministerial set public policy objectives?

Within reach of Whitehall's civil servants and minsters is a vast array of research and publications than can be used to inform the policy formation and implementation process. Examples such as Ipsos Mori's understanding society series provides a detailed insight into what the public value, think and want from the state. The Britain 2012 report is an example of a piece of research that encapsulates the nation's mindset.

The Cabinet Office is seeking new ways to involve the public in policy formation in both the transparency and open data agendas – which allow us to see exactly where every penny of our taxes is going and opens up the space for political and public debate on previously untouchables areas of state expenditure. Areas such as benefits reform at the Department of Work and Pensions (including free TV licences, winter fuel allowance, free bus passes) could all be up for discussion. This would have been thinking the unthinkable in the past.

Public opinion could also help set the pace of reform. To overcome frustrations around the lengthy timetable required to implement reform, why not allow policy to be timetabled to align with public opinion? Therein lies the momentum and impetus to accelerate the speed at which the aptly labelled dead hand of the state implements policy.

The findings from Britain 2012 depict a generation whose view of the state is highly contrasted to views held by their parents and grandparents. Broadly speaking, the report found a differing view between the generations about what the state should or should not be doing.

At one end of the spectrum the elder "collectivist" post-war generation who, unsurprisingly, places value in a society and state that cares for the most needy, and at the other, a younger generation of teenagers and those in their 20's who broadly take a more "individualist" view of the world where each needs to take greater responsibility for themselves.

In either case, underlying changes in public opinion across generations highlight the profound impact this may have on drawing up the public policy priorities of the future.

Marcus Hobley is a freelance commentator, specialising in economic and public policy, he tweets at @marcushobley

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