Trust in politicians to act in the national interest rather than for themselves has fallen dramatically since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures contained in a disturbing new study into the state of British democracy.
The polling data from YouGov for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows a particularly sharp fall in trust in the few weeks since the Owen Paterson scandal triggered a rash of Tory sleaze scandals.
In 2014, when David Cameron was prime minister, 48% of voters believed politicians were “out merely for themselves” as opposed to their country or party. This had increased to 57% by May 2021 after nearly two years of Johnson in No 10, and leapt to 63% last week in the wake of the Paterson affair. In the same poll, just 5% of voters thought politicians were in the job primarily for the good of their country.
While the polls have asked about politicians of all colours, the main opposition parties now believe the Tories are particularly vulnerable on questions of trust and sleaze, offering them a chance to break through. » | Toby Helm and Michael Savage | Saturday, November 4, 2021
Why trust politicians? How UK voters lost faith in our leaders: More people than ever before feel disaffected by our political system. But what are the reasons for this and what risks does it pose? »
One thing is for sure: history will not be kind to Boris Johnson. In years to come, pages in the history books describing his administration will be stamped with the words ‘sleaze and corruption’. In addition, the chapters written on Brexit will be stamped almost certainly with the following words: sleazy, corrupt, undemocratic, ‘financed by foreigners’.
Johnson’s apparent victory is but an illusion. One day, it will be shown to have been pyrrhic. – © Mark
