Rebuilding Trustworthiness in British Politics: A Call for Integrity
Addiction Economy Thought for Today - is about trustworthiness and trust in politics and its links to serving the public interest.
Below is another punt on a letter to the FT in response to today's leader which gets itself in a muddle about trustworthiness and trust!
Your leader ‘The trust deficit in Britain’s damaged politics’ (Tuesday 24th June 2024) makes the common mistake of using the word trust when the correct word is trustworthiness.
The lack of citizen trust in politicians is the result of a 'trustworthiness' deficit in British politics and the casual disregard for integrity shown by those using inside information to make negligible amounts of money betting on the election date ‘yet another example of the erosion of 'trustworthiness' of political ethics.’
In our research on Trust and Governance I was struck by the findings of the 2020 Global Satisfaction with Democracy Report (from the Bennett Inst for Public Policy) which proposed that ‘if satisfaction with democracy is now falling across many of the world’s largest mature and emerging democracies (which included the UK) it is not because citizens’ expectations are excessive or unrealistic, but because democratic institutions are falling short of the outcomes that matter most for their legitimacy.’
‘Restoring stable and effective government’ as you propose must start with rebuilding ‘trustworthiness’. The Labour Party, if it is successful in winning the election, must deliver ‘what matters most’ to citizens everywhere which according to the findings of the research includes ‘probity in office, upholding the rule of law, responsiveness to public concerns, ensuring economic and financial security, and raising living standards for the larger majority of society.’
An interesting list. It is clear to see where successive Conservative governments have failed on all of these counts and so have deservedly lost the trust of UK citizens. Perhaps Labour and the Liberal Democrats could do more to provide clearer evidence of their trustworthiness as a matter of priority in their campaigning and, let’s hope, their approach to governing after July 4th.
Here is the FT leader
https://lnkd.in/eXi_DHXU
Here is the 2020 Global Satisfaction with Democracy Report from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy
https://lnkd.in/eSNd6iUY
BTW, we think that the flourishing of The Addiction Economy and the harmful industries causing mass death and damage to health and wellbeing is the result of a priority on business at the expense of the public interest and another nail in the coffin of public trust.