After Partygate and a series of other scandals, it will come as no surprise that trust in politics is at an all-time low. A recent Ipsos poll found that barely one in 10 people in Britain trust politicians to tell the truth – the lowest level since the survey began in 1983, and less than half the proportion who say they trust estate agents.
This is not only a matter of concern for political commentators. A recent report from centre-left thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that for most of 2022, lack of faith in politics and politicians was considered a more important issue facing the country than immigration levels. And there is a growing appetite for change: the same report found that nearly three in five think our political system needs to be reformed “completely” or “to a large extent”, while just 6% are happy with the status quo.
