Rebuilding trust in public life
Think tank: Institute for Government
Author(s): Tim Durrant
February 26, 2024
This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government states that the next government should start the difficult process of showing the British public that our institutions can be trusted.
Trust in the institutions of public life has taken a beating after years of scandal in UK politics. From MPs’ lobbying to corruption allegations concerning the government’s response to the pandemic – and, of course, the ‘partygate’ affair that implicated figures at the very heart of government during that crisis.
As Ipsos polling commissioned specially for this report shows, there is a sense among the public that people in power do not feel bound by the same rules as them. Two thirds of respondents said that they do not think the current government behaves according to high ethical standards (65%); approaching half believed standards of behaviour had got worse since the 2019 general election (45%).
The general election that will take place this year offers both the main parties a chance to reset these perceptions. They should take it. But this needn’t wait till the morning after the vote: both can set out from now how they plan to fix the situation should they enter No.10.
