Most people love Christmas, but attitudes towards politics in recent years? Frustrated, more than festive. Understanding why is crucial to recognising the underlying political contest of the 2020s, and how high the stakes are. We’re told gloom is the result of short-term political developments, what one politician or another has said. It’s nonsense. The causes are what people see in their lives – the reality of the past 15 years, not the rhetoric of a few months.
The public has witnessed elite failure on a colossal scale. When people have seen the economy stagnate and public services collapse, it’s no surprise political trust is low and apathy high. Generally the British are a trusting bunch (three-quarters believe you can trust other people compared with the OECD average of two-thirds), but faith in government is in short supply: only one in four trusted it towards the Conservative administration at the end against two-fifths across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
