Trust in Westminster hits record low as 61% say politics works for ‘nobody like me’
Northgate Research survey of 10,400 adults finds confidence in MPs at its lowest since tracking began in 1998, with under-35s the most disillusioned
Six in 10 British adults believe that politics “does not work for people like me”, the highest figure recorded in 28 years of tracking, according to a survey published on Wednesday that paints a picture of a public that has not so much turned against a particular party as against the system itself.
The Northgate Research poll of 10,412 adults, conducted between 18 September and 4 October, found that 14% trusted MPs to tell the truth, 22% believed the government would keep its manifesto promises, and 31% said they expected their own financial situation to be better in five years. In 1998, the comparable figures were 29%, 41% and 54%.
The most striking shift is by age. Among 18- to 34-year-olds, 68% agreed that politics did not work for them, compared with 52% of over-65s. Younger respondents were also the most likely to say they would consider voting for a party that “had never been in government” (57%) and the least likely to be able to name their MP (23%).
“The story for 20 years has been that trust is low but stable,” said Dr Imogen Castellan, Northgate’s director. “What we are seeing now is that it has become dynamic. People are not just saying the current lot are useless; they are saying that whoever comes next will be useless too. That is a very different, and much more corrosive, thing.”
The findings were drawn from a large sample that allows breakdowns by region. Disillusionment was highest in the north-east (66%) and Wales (65%) and lowest in London (53%). Respondents in former industrial towns were 11 points more likely than city dwellers to say they had “given up” following political news.
In a focus group held in Wrexham alongside the survey, Darren Mottram, a 44-year-old lorry driver, summed up a view the researchers said they heard repeatedly. “I have voted four different ways in my life,” he said. “Every single time, within a year, the same people are on the telly explaining why they cannot do the thing they said. At some point you stop blaming the party and start blaming the building.”
The poll was commissioned by a cross-party group of MPs who are pushing for a citizens’ assembly on parliamentary reform. The poll found 54% support for such an assembly, though only 19% said they would take part if asked.
A government spokesperson said the findings were “sobering, and a reminder that delivery is the only answer”. An opposition spokesperson said much the same.
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