Our lack of trust in politicians is problematic, but it’s a long-term condition rather than a sudden, acute crisis.

Our lack of trust in politicians is problematic, but it’s a long-term condition rather than a sudden, acute crisis. For example, less than one in five people in Britain trust our politicians to tell the truth – but this is the same as when the survey started four decades ago. 

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Britain is far from alone in its political leaders being trusted by only small minorities of the population. The overall pattern and level of trust in politicians is similar across a collection of around 20 countries in Europe, with consistently low levels over the last 16 years and not much difference between generations. The truth is that we’ve been disappointed in our politicians for a long time. 

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Even in August 1944, with the Second World War reaching a climax, when a polling company asked, ‘Do you think that British politicians are out merely for themselves, for their party or to do their best for their country?’, only 36 per cent of respondents chose the last option. 

B. Duffy, The Generation Divide (2023), loc. 3,336