TRUSTWATCH 2 24 - A PLAYBOOK TO REBUILD TRUST IN POLITICS

Some 45% of the public ‘almost never’ trust governments of any party to put the nation’s interests above their party’s, while 58% ‘almost never’ trust politicians to tell the truth when they are in a tight corner.2 This lack of political trust threatens to thwart the government’s ambitions for a “decade of national renewal” but also weaken the very functioning of our democracy. [...] In this report, we argue that the government’s current response to low trust is far too narrow to build the broader, more resilient form of political trust it needs to command the confidence of the public and safeguard the future of our democracy. [...] ac.uk/news/trust-and-confidence-britains-system-government-record-low 7 corner (comparable to the 60% recorded after the 2009 expenses scandal).6 Prior to the election campaign, Demos polling revealed that just under a third (32%) of the population believed the UK was a well-functioning democracy and that just 35% of people trusted the upcoming general election campaign to represent the concerns o. [...] Materially improving the lives of the public, the functioning of the country (from house-building to public service reform), and the UK’s global standing are essential to restoring the idea that government can be a vehicle for positive change in people’s lives. [...] For example, even though the 2024 Parliament is arguably the most diverse in history, it remains that:61,62 • 23% of MPs went to private school, compared to 7% of the UK population • 90% have been to university, compared to 19% of UK adults • 40.5% of MPs are women, compared to 50.5% of the population • 14% of MPs are from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared to 17% of the population There is als.