2025/01/17 by Chris Butler, Will Jennings, Gerry Stoker · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Social Capital and Networks #Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering
paper · doi:10.1177/00323217241310945
Evidence indicates that citizens widely regard politicians as untrustworthy. But do low levels of trust affect politicians’ behaviour? In this article, we draw on interviews conducted with UK political elites to understand: (a) whether they recognise a lack of public trust; (b) what they perceive as its causes and present as solutions; (c) how it affects the decision-making process; and (d) whether they feel it undermines their sense of legitimacy. While we find that UK political elites do acknowledge low levels of trust, they reveal that this has only modest effects on their activities, and the legitimacy to take major decisions is undented. Low trust offers political opportunities as well as threats. Low trust places few constraints on politicians’ ability to wield power. As a result, leading politicians may lack the motivation to take meaningful action to arrest low levels of citizens’ trust.