Nine in a Hundred

Since 1983, Ipsos’s Veracity Index has been monitoring the levels of trust associated with various professions. In 2025, politicians achieved a joint-record low, yet an analysis of the fifty-year series reveals a more nuanced narrative beyond the surface-level statistic.

United Ballots Research | July 2026 | 6 minutes analysis
The proportion of British citizens expressing confidence in the honesty of politicians, as reported by the Ipsos Veracity Index for the year 2025, indicates a significant trend in public trust. This data serves as a critical indicator of the relationship between the electorate and their representatives, highlighting the need for ongoing analysis and strategic considerations in political communication and governance. For over forty years, politicians have consistently ranked at or near the lowest levels in Britain's most enduring trust survey. The information underlying that headline provides greater insight than the figure alone suggests.

Since 1983, Ipsos has conducted a longitudinal survey among the British public, posing a consistent inquiry regarding a rotating selection of professions: do you generally trust them to convey the truth? Nurses have consistently ranked at the top of that list throughout the majority of the survey's four-decade history. Politicians have consistently occupied the opposing position.

In 2025, only 9% of the British population expressed trust in politicians to convey the truth. This statistic, recorded by Ipsos, represents a historically low score, equaling the previous low established in 2023. Government ministers achieved a marginally improved performance, with a success rate of 14%. In contrast, data indicates that 92% of the public expresses trust in nurses, 90% in engineers, and 85% in doctors. In 2025, a notable shift occurred with the inclusion of social media influencers in the index, resulting in their emergence at the lowest tier, where they supplanted politicians, who garnered a mere 6% trust rating. Fifty years of data demonstrates significant trends and shifts over time.

The significance of the Veracity Index is not predominantly found in the score of any individual year, but rather in the trend observed over multiple years. Confidence in political figures in Britain has historically been low. At its peak in 1999, a mere 23% of the populace expressed trust in politicians' honesty. However, the index indicates that the current state of low trust is not static; rather, it is dynamic and fluctuates in reaction to various events. The prior record low, established in 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the parliamentary expenses scandal, was 13% before the year 2023. Trust experienced a gradual recovery over the subsequent decade, achieving a peak of 19% in 2021. However, this was followed by a significant decline, with trust levels dropping to 12% in 2022, further decreasing to 9% in 2023. A partial recovery was noted in 2024, with trust rising to 11%, yet it fell again to 9% in 2025.

The observed volatility is a critical factor in the interpretation of the figures presented. A score of 9% does not constitute definitive evidence that trust in politics has reached a permanently low and irreversible state. Historical data from the same index indicates that significant recoveries have occurred in the past, with the most recent instance noted in 2021. Evidence indicates that public trust in politicians exhibits a heightened sensitivity to distinct, identifiable events, such as scandals, broken promises, and observable discrepancies between campaign rhetoric and actual governance. This phenomenon contrasts sharply with the trust afforded to professionals such as engineers or nurses, which remains relatively stable and less influenced by similar occurrences.
Trust cannot be characterized as a singular national sentiment.

Several detailed findings merit clear articulation, as they demonstrate that "trust in politics" is not a

singular, uniform metric throughout the nation. According to the findings from Ipsos’s 2023 wave, a mere 2% of individuals aged 25–34 and 3% of residents in London regarded politicians as trustworthy. These figures are significantly lower than the national average recorded for that year. In the year 2023, a notable disparity in trust levels emerged between genders regarding politicians' honesty. Specifically, 24% of male respondents expressed confidence in politicians' truthfulness, whereas only 15% of female respondents reported similar trust levels. The 2025 wave similarly documented a decline in trust levels among ethnic minority respondents, as well as among supporters of the Green Party and Reform UK. This observation underscores the notion that diminished trust in political figures transcends specific demographics and political affiliations.

Clarity regarding the specific metrics captured by the index, as well as those that are excluded, is essential for accurate interpretation and application. The inquiry focuses on the perception of honesty among politicians, specifically assessing public belief in their truthfulness. It does not encompass evaluations of satisfaction with particular policies, assessments of competence, or preferences for political parties. Britain's polling data regarding party support, government approval, and trust in specific institutions, including the police and the courts, presents a multifaceted narrative. Certain aspects of this data reveal a more optimistic outlook than the overarching figure reported by the Veracity Index. Local councillors are evaluated independently in the same survey. Although trust in these officials has declined in recent years, they have consistently received higher ratings than the broader category of "politicians." This distinction can be attributed to the more direct, localized, and verifiable nature of the relationship between a councillor and their constituents, in contrast to the more abstract connection between voters and national politicians.

The implications of the data are significant and warrant careful analysis. Understanding the underlying trends and patterns is essential for informed decision-making and strategic planning. A thorough examination of the data will provide insights that can guide future actions and policies. Trust experiences its most rapid and extensive decline at the highest levels of abstraction, such as with terms like "politicians" and "government ministers." In contrast, trust remains relatively more resilient when directed towards specific, identifiable individuals who are accountable within local contexts. For any representative, the critical area of focus for maintaining reputation lies not in abstract categories, which have largely been deemed ineffective in recent decades, but rather in the tangible and observable record of commitments fulfilled and promises upheld.

Education introduces an additional, extensively documented division. Research conducted by Ipsos indicates a consistent trend wherein individuals possessing degree-level qualifications exhibit a higher propensity to trust various professions to convey the truth compared to those lacking formal qualifications. This disparity varies across different professions, with a notable 19 percentage point gap observed in the trust placed in local councillors—50% among graduates versus 31% among non-graduates. The gap is even more pronounced in the context of trust towards civil servants and judges. The observed pattern warrants careful consideration, as it indicates that the decline in trust towards politics is not a singular, homogeneous national sentiment. Rather, it appears to correlate, at least in part, with the educational and geographic divides that have influenced British voting behavior since the 2016 EU referendum.

The differentiation between the abstract and the particular represents a significant contribution of this fifty-year data series to individuals engaged in political endeavors. A voter's understanding of "politicians in general" is predominantly shaped by national media narratives and pre-existing beliefs. In contrast, a voter's knowledge of their specific councillor, MP, or mayor can be verified directly, based on the actual statements and actions of that individual. The index consistently indicates that trust is lower in the aggregate compared to specific instances. This observation supports the notion of fostering political identity at the individual, verifiable level, rather than relying on the diminishing credibility of a broader category that has been in decline long before the current officeholders assumed their roles.