How do we rebuild trust in politics?
Followers of British politics over the last twenty or so years will have noticed a worrying trend. Trust in politicians has never been especially high, but the depth and persistence of public scepticism today should concern all of us.
Long-running data from the National Centre for Social Research shows that confidence in governments and politicians has remained fragile for decades. The 2009 expenses scandal marked a particular low point, as did ‘Partygate’ in 2020/21. Despite interventions to increase political accountability by – for example – making the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards truly independent, and introducing a national code of conduct for councillors, the underlying lack of trust has endured as more deceitful and dishonest politicians and their associates, have been exposed.
Across our political system, and internationally, a failure of leadership is undermining the trust on which our democratic mandate is based. For some leaders, the notion of politics as public service is anathema to them but they’re not foolish enough to reveal this; others clearly don’t care, their concern is power and what that power will do for them. Others still do believe in politics as a duty even a vocation. But against thuggish men who display little if any understanding of our common humanity, and who only believe in hard power, it is difficult to argue rationally for upholding our rules-based system.
But there is hope. Focusing on our sphere of influence, we can rebuild trust with those we seek to serve.
First, we need to understand the range of issues that contribute to the distrust of politics and politicians. It’s possible to make some generalisations about how we will respond to certain situations or experiences in the context of social norms and values. Rule-breaking by rule-makers understandably sticks in the craw. But there is also something about fairness, an important British value. This covers not just bad behaviour, but policy not seen to be fair or delivered in a way that is unfair. We can all think of examples of where this happened in the first year of this Labour Government.
Similarly, a disconnect between policy intent and policy delivery will also reduce confidence in Government.
Similarly, a disconnect between policy intent and policy delivery will also reduce confidence in Government.
Other things to consider are the personal circumstances of our constituents. For many, the impact of the last 15 years or so has been devastating for people on low but also middle incomes; their personal reserves let alone their financial savings are spent. People feel completely empty and powerless. And then there are the malign actors: some hubristic politicians and others, at home and abroad, those on social media and beyond, stirring the pot, identifying convenient culprits who they say deserve the blame.
We can see that when people feel that power is concentrated in too few hands – and that they themselves have too little influence – trust declines. We know that societies with lower inequality in income, wealth and power, tend to display higher levels of social and institutional trust. Inequality in power matters just as much as economic inequality.
As the two Bills I introduced into Parliament, Elected Representatives (Codes of Conduct) Bill and Standards in Public Life (Codes of Conduct) Bill, set out to do, we need to strengthen and uphold standards in public life, whilst addressing the political power deficit, and the apparent favour of power over principle. This means we need to share power more widely and give voters a greater voice at election times through alternative voting or proportional voting systems, but also in between elections, for example, in citizen assemblies and other deliberative democracy methods.
Our electoral system lies at the heart of the trust question. ‘First past the post’ has long been defended on the grounds that it produces stable government. When citizens believe their votes do not meaningfully influence outcomes, they are bound to become disillusioned and disengaged.
It is no coincidence that among the 20 best performers in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index – which grades countries according to citizens’ perception of levels of public-sector corruption – we mostly find that proportional representation forms at least a component, if not the whole, of the electoral system.
Politicians are not the only public officeholders to face this crisis of confidence. Trust in other institutions, including the police, has also fallen in recent years. The Police’s mantra that ‘policing by consent’ reflects their underpinning philosophy that their legitimacy stems from public support and trust, rather than force alone. I know the new leadership in Oldham GMP firmly believes this and actively engages with the public on issues that matter to them. More widely I would encourage all public servants and their officials, whether in local authorities, housing associations, or the NHS, to look to how they can rebuild trust and put their customers, patients or service users at the heart of decision-making.
Inviting citizens to contribute more directly in our decision-making processes is the single greatest move we could make to demonstrate our respect for them. We just might make better decisions in the process!
Trust cannot be commanded. It must be earned – through higher standards, fairer distribution of political power, and a genuine commitment to openness. The sooner we act on all three, the stronger British democracy will be.
Debbie Abrahams is the Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.
