This post is written by Hilary Sutcliffe, Director, SocietyInside.
- The problem: British people’s trust in government is among the lowest in the OECD.
- Why it matters: New research shows that distrust of government has severe economic implications.
- The solution: Taking public trust seriously is important: “Trust is the most pressing and yet least discussed problem” facing governments today.
This is the first in a series of articles looking at the implications of distrust in government and trust in other people.
Trust in governments is falling everywhere. But British people’s trust in government is among the lowest in the OECD (see above). This may be why we are among the least likely to believe that national policies would change if the majority of people complained or expressed a view against them, that the government would adopt opinions expressed in public consultations or why we think it unlikely that a public employee would treat rich people and poor people equally.
Despite this, trust in public institutions, like the judiciary, the NHS and the Civil Service is higher than average and people in the UK are much more likely to trust each other — interpersonal trust. (Which might come as a surprise if, like me, you’ve read loads of articles which say we all hate each other because of social media and Brexit.)
So is our distrust of government in the UK primarily about distrust in politicians and the political system? Very possibly. A 2021 poll by the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research for a report on Dealing with Distrust in Politics showed a resounding majority think that “British politicians are merely out for themselves”. (See below)
The Edelman Trust Barometer for the UK in 2022 backs that up, showing that trust in all aspects of government, local and national, opposition and incumbents have taken a dive, but the behaviour of politicians in particular is a significant cause of distrust. 59% now feel that politicians are more likely to lie and mislead the public and this behaviour, according to 79% of people, undermines people’s trust in government, makes society more divided (73%) that it undermines democracy (66%).
This leaves people feeling powerless and disengaged. 57% feel powerless to affect change, only 15% believe that the system works in their favour, and less than a third think that their vote will allow them to influence politics.
This belief that everyone is untrustworthy and nothing I can do makes a difference has profound implications.
But what is the effect of all this distrust?
But what are the implications of this on our day to day lives?
Some interesting new research from the Inter-American Development Bank has some of the clearest evidence I have seen of the implications of mistrust on the social and economic wellbeing of entire countries.
The team looked at the economies and societies of Latin American and the Caribbean, who are among the least trusting in the world, and came to the surprising conclusion that “Trust is the most pressing and yet least discussed problem” these countries face and that the effects of distrust are perhaps the most critical factor in their poor economic and social performance.
When they talk about distrust they mean that people “believe that others will act opportunistically. They will make promises they cannot keep, renege on promises they can keep, and violate norms to take advantage of other people who adhere to them. In short, trust is faith in others — in their honesty, dependability, and good will.”
This belief that everyone is untrustworthy and nothing I can do makes a difference has profound implications:
People avoid paying taxes because they don’t think they will be used for anything they see as worthwhile. So the tax intake is lower, with less money to spend on public services, with a resulting spiral of distrust as people’s low expectations of government effectiveness and delivering in the public interest are fulfilled.
The informal economy, cash, off the books payments, and corruption increases because people don’t trust anyone else to pay tax either and don’t want to be ‘taken for a mug’.
Because companies and workers don’t think anyone else is complying with regulations and the law, they don’t either. Enforcement is poor, expectations are lowered and products, services and working conditions decline. Another downward spiral begins.
Because they don’t trust governments to enforce regulations, they are less likely to trust other companies and go into partnerships with other firms, or grow through other collaborative means.
They are more likely to hire family members, and keep companies small, which are less productive, offer fewer benefits to employees and make a much smaller contribution to the economy overall.
Because they believe politicians can’t be trusted to act in the public interest, they only support short term policies which give immediate benefits to them as companies or individuals, such as cash transfers, subsidies and money-in-the-hand-now schemes. So governments struggle to get acceptance and funding for longer term policies that boost growth and support public welfare.
Because they don’t trust the system, people think it is a pointless waste of time to get involved in local or national collaborative schemes to make things better.
When citizens don’t trust each other as well as not trusting government, they are also less likely to work together to hold governments more accountable.
Because they don’t think their vote has any influence anyway, they don’t bother to vote and the self-serving and corrupt can more easily get to the top.
Because the self-serving are in charge, they are more likely to enact laws that undermine public welfare and gain private advantage at the expense of the citizen at large. And so the death spiral continues.
So what can be done to restore trust to politics and government and what can the UK learn? All is not lost: the key might be that small stat buried in the OECD report that British people have much more trust in each other than those in most other countries. Interpersonal trust is the key to trustworthiness and trust.
The second in this series of articles has some ideas on how distrust of government may actually unite citizens to unite and demand better, more trustworthy government.
The third article will explore what the OECD, IDB, IPPR and others suggest governments can do to earn citizen trust and support greater interpersonal trust among its citizens.
You can find this article and many others on Hilary’s blog.
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