Trust and confidence in Britain’s system of government at record low

The 41st British Social Attitudes (BSA) report, published today by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), reveals that the public is as critical now of how Britain is governed as they have ever been. The political and policy challenges faced by the country in the second half of the 2019-24 parliament have significantly undermined the public’s trust and confidence in politicians and the political system.

Sharp fall in levels of trust and confidence

• A record high of 45% now say they ‘almost never’ trust governments of any party to place the needs of the nation above the interests of their own political party. This is 22 points above the figure recorded in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
• As many as 58%, also a record high, say they ‘almost never’ trust ‘politicians of any party in Britain to tell the truth when they are in a tight corner’, up 19 points from 2020.
• 79% say the system of governing Britain could be improved ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’, matching the record low recorded during the parliamentary stalemate over Brexit in 2019. The figure is up 18 points in 2020.

Sharp rise in disenchantment among Leave voters

After the 2019 election and the subsequent delivery of Brexit, Leave voters' trust and confidence in how the country is governed markedly increased.

• Nearly half (48%) of those who voted Leave in 2016 now say they almost never trust governments of any party to put the needs of the country above the interests of their party, up 23 points from 2020 and slightly above the equivalent figure of 42% among Remain voters.
• Three-fifths (60%) of 2016 Leave voters almost never trust politicians to tell the truth when in a tight corner, up 17 points from 2020. The equivalent figure among Remain supporters is 53%.
• 76% of those who voted Leave in 2016 now say Britain’s system of government needs quite a lot or a great deal of improvement, up 22 points from 2020. At 83%, the figure for Remain voters is only slightly higher.

The fall in trust and confidence has been particularly marked among those Leave voters who feel that Brexit has not worked out as well as they had hoped. For example, 56% of those 2016 Leave voters who disagree that leaving the EU has strengthened Britain’s ability to make its own laws say they now almost never trust governments – well above the figure of 30% among those Leave voters who do feel that Brexit has made it easier for Britain to pass its own laws.

Since 2019, the proportion of Leave voters who feel that Brexit has strengthened Britain’s ability to make its own laws has fallen 38 points (from 85% to 47%).

Public policy failures also undermine trust and confidence

The problems of the NHS and the ‘cost of living crisis’ have also had a negative impact.

• 86% of those who are dissatisfied with the NHS say that the system of government is in need of quite a lot or a great deal of improvement—only 65% of those who are satisfied with the NHS share that view.
• 52% of those dissatisfied with the NHS almost never trust governments to put the needs of the country first, well above the equivalent figure of 32% among those who are satisfied.
• 72% of those who nowadays are ‘struggling’ on their household income almost never trust politicians to tell the truth, compared with 49% living ‘comfortably’.

Low trust helps fuel support for constitutional change

A record high of 53% now say that the voting system used to elect MPs should be changed ‘to allow smaller parties to get a fairer share of MPs’. Only 40% believe we should keep the current system ‘to produce effective government’.

• Those who almost never trust the government are almost twice as likely (62%) as those who trust the government ‘just about always’ or ‘most of the time’ (32%) to support a change in the voting system for the House of Commons. 

For the first time, well under half (45%) of those living in England believe the country should be governed ‘as it is now, with laws made by the UK parliament’ rather than having a separate English parliament or a system of regional government.

• Only 40% of those who almost never trust politicians to tell the truth believe that England should continue to be governed as it is now, compared with seven in ten (69%) of those who trust them just about always or most of the time.

However, people’s levels of trust only have a marginal impact on people’s interest in politics – and thus, perhaps, on their willingness to vote in the current general election. While only 31% of those who almost never trust politicians to tell the truth have ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of interest in politics, the figure is not that much higher (47%) among those who trust them at least most of the time.

Professor Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research, says: “The next government will not simply face the challenge of reviving Britain’s stuttering economy and its struggling public services. It will also need to address the concerns of a public that is as doubtful as it has ever been about the trustworthiness and efficacy of the country’s system of government. Addressing some of the policy challenges will help in that endeavour. However, it is likely to require much more than that – in particular, a style and manner of governing that persuades people that the government has their interests at heart after all.”