Trust in Britain’s system of government is at a record low and the relationship between politicians and the public increasingly fragile. 

This report sets out to better understand the current state of political trust to diagnose what is going wrong, and to develop a playbook to rebuild political trust. It identifies key drivers of low trust from which it builds a series of strategies and recommendations to present a better way forward. 

The authors argue the British Government’s current approach to rebuilding trust is far too narrow. Its current areas of focus – to build trust by delivering on its promises and improving integrity in office – cannot alone address the deep-rooted concerns the public have about how our political system is set-up and operates. Instead, the report offers a broad view of factors driving low trust from which it proposes strategies and recommendations towards addressing the crisis of faith in politics. 

Recommendations

1. Embed public participation across national government policy making.
2. Empower MPs with resources, guidance and training to act as community champions.
3. Provide means-tested financial support to MP candidates.
4. Improve action on abuse of MPs from the government, parliament, and the police.
5. Reform the selection of MPs to ensure processes are robust and transparent.
6. Create a new Institute for Public Interest News and public funding for local news to address market failure.
7. Develop ways to exert pressure on social media platforms to surface relevant public interest news to audiences at appropriate times in the political cycle.
8. Reform PMQs by allowing MPs follow-up questions and introducing cross-party agreement to improve the quality of debate
9. Improve political knowledge among the public.
10. Help the public identify and challenge mis/disinformation.