Hamed Chapman

Trust in politicians has plummeted to its lowest level on record with almost two-thirds of voters believing MPs are ‘merely out for themselves,” according to a new major study.

The findings by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows a ‘significant and disturbing’ decline in satisfaction with democracy as well as trust in key democratic institutions.

It comes in the wake of the latest rash of sleaze scandals which was said to be taken a toll on public perception of the political class, but was ‘just the tip of the iceberg’ and was undermining liberal democracy.

“Our research shows a significant and disturbing decline in public trust in politicians and democracy in the UK. More people than ever are convinced that MPs are primarily looking out for themselves, rather than their country,” IPPR Director, Harry Quilter-Pinner, said.

“Rather than taking bold action now to reverse this long-term trend, the government seem to be making things worse,” he warned.

To highlight the decline YouGov polling was used to repeat the question first asked in 1944 when just over one in three British people (35 per cent) thought that politicians were only out for themselves, while

slightly more said they were motivated to serve their country.
In 2014, when David Cameron was Prime Minister, after the financial crash and MPs’ expenses scandal and several years into the Conservative Party’s ‘austerity’ period, just 48 per cent of voters believed politicians were “out merely for themselves”.

By May this year, within two years of Boris Johnson taking office, the figure had risen to 57 per cent. Following the Owen Paterson scandal, it has further jumped to 63 per cent with just 5 per cent saying politicians are motivated primarily by the good of the country.