A common refrain in both popular and academic accounts of recent trends in British political life is that the general public is becoming less active and civic life is in crisis. However, evidence from the Citizen Audit surveys suggests a very different picture of Britain at the start of the twenty-first century. British people are still active citizens and have a strong normative commitment towards citizenship. But their repertoire of actions has widened considerably. They may be less involved in ‘traditional’ forms of political action, but they are more willing to undertake individual actions than before, and are still active in local associational life. Patterns of activity still reflect long-standing social divisions, however.