New polling by Ipsos MORI shows that politicians remain the profession least trusted by the British public, below Estate Agents, Journalists and bankers. Just 21% of Britons trust politicians to tell the truth compared with 25% trusting journalists and estate agents and 42% who trust builders. Despite this, the picture for politicians has improved since last year, when just 16% of the public trusted them to tell the truth. This question has been asked consistently since 1983, making it the longest-running series on trust in key professions in the UK. It shows that public trust in politicians has always been low: at no point since 1983 have more than a quarter of the public ever trusted politicians to tell the truth. The lowest trust score was recorded in 2009 in the wake of the expenses scandal, when only 13% said they trusted politicians.

1. © 2015 Ipsos. All rights reserved. Contains Ipsos' Confidential and Proprietary information and may
not be disclosed or reproduced without the prior written consent of Ipsos.
1Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | FINAL Version | PUBLIC
January 2016
Ipsos MORI
Veracity Index 2015

2. 2Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Veracity Index 2015 – all professions overview
89%
86%
80%
79%
69%
68%
68%
67%
65%
59%
53%
51%
49%
47%
46%
43%
42%
37%
37%
35%
25%
25%
22%
21%
Doctors
Teachers
Judges
Scientists
Hairdressers
The Police
Ordinary Man/Woman in the street
Clergy/Priests
TV news readers
Civil Servants
Pollsters
Lawyers
Managers in the NHS
Charity Chief Executives
Trade Union Officials
Local Councillors
Builders
Bankers
Managers in Local Government
Business Leaders
Journalists
Estate Agents
Government Ministers
Politicians generally
“Now I will read you a list of different types of people. For each would you tell me if you generally trust them to tell the truth, or not?”
% trust to tell the truth
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016

3. 3Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
The five most trusted professions, 2015
89%
86%
80%
79%
69%
Doctors
Teachers
Judges
Scientists
Hairdressers
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016
2014 score:
90%
86%
80%
83%
N/A

4. 4Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
The five least trusted professions, 2015
35%
25%
25%
22%
21%
Business Leaders
Journalists
Estate Agents
Government Ministers
Politicians Generally
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016
2014 score:
32%
22%
22%
19%
16%

5. 5Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Hairdressers are more trusted than a wide variety of
professions including Civil Servants and Pollsters
69%
68%
65%
59%
53%
49%
47%
23%
29%
30%
32%
34%
43%
43%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Hairdressers
The Police
TV Newsreaders
Civil Servants
Pollsters
NHS Managers
Charity Chief Executives
Trust to tell the truth Do not trust to tell the truth
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016

6. 6Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
All Veracity data, 1983 - 2015
0
20
40
60
80
100
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Doctors Teachers Professors Judges Scientists
Clergy/Priests The Police TV news reader Ordinary Man/Woman in the street Civil Servants
Pollsters Trade Union Officials Local Councillors Business Leaders Bankers
Managers in Local Government Journalists Government Ministers Politicians Generally Managers in the NHS
Lawyers* Hairdressers* Builders* Charity Chief Executives* Estate Agents
% trust to tell the truth:
*: This profession listed for the first time in 2015
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

7. 7Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
In 1983, the Clergy were the most trusted profession in Britain. Since then they have
been overtaken by doctors and scientists, and fallen to eighth most trusted overall
82
89
63
79
85
67
0
20
40
60
80
100
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Doctors (+7 ppt) Scientists (+16 ppt) Clergy/Priests (-18 ppt)
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

8. 8Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Whilst trust in the clergy has fallen steeply since 1983, trust in Civil Servants, Trade
Union officials and the man/woman in the street has risen most notably
85
67
57
68
25
59
18
46
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Clergy/Priests (-18 ppt) Ordinary Man/Woman in the street (+11 ppt) Civil Servants (+34 ppt) Trade Union Officials (+28 ppt)
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

9. 9Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Journalists, Government Ministers and politicians have been among the least trusted
to tell the truth since 1983; this year they are as little trusted as Estate Agents
22
21
25
0
20
40
60
80
100
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Journalists Government Ministers Politicians Generally Estate Agents
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

10. 10Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Public trust in pollsters has been fairly stable since 1993; the 2015 General Election
appears to have had no impact on public trust in the profession
52
55
49
46 46 47 46
49 50 51
45
48
45
39
50 51
53
0
20
40
60
80
100
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Pollsters – % trust to tell the truth:
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

11. 11Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Trust in Bankers continues to rise strongly from a post-crash
nadir – but Baby Boomers are the least trusting
29
21
31
37
0
20
40
60
80
100
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
53%
64%
61%
55%
41%
31%
35%
41%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Pre War (born before 1945)
Baby Boomers (born 1945-65)
Generation X (born 1966-1979)
Generation Y (born 1980-2000)
Trust to tell the truth Do not trust to tell the truth
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016
Bankers:
% trust to tell the truth

12. 12Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
Generation Y remain notably less trusting of the man/woman in the street
than previous generations, although trust has risen in all age groups…
58%
75%
57%
78%
53%
68%
37%
56%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Pre War (born before 1945) Baby Boomers (born 1945-65) Generation X (born 1966-1979) Generation Y (born 1980-2000) Overall
The man/woman in the street:
% trust to tell the truth
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year; data points represent >100 respondents

13. 13Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
…they also remain the most trusting generation of Civil Servants,
although other generations are closing the gap
29%
54%
36%
56%
48%
59%62%
65%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Pre War (born before 1945) Baby Boomers (born 1945-65) Generation X (born 1966-1979) Generation Y (born 1980-2000) Overall
Civil Servants:
% trust to tell the truth
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year; data points represent >100 respondents

14. 14Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
The optimism of youth: despite lower trust in the ordinary person in the
street, Generation Y are the most trusting of a variety of professions…
75%
29%
19% 18%
77%
32%
19%
25%
68%
33%
19%
22%
56%
41%
27%
30%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Ordinary man/woman in the street Business leaders Government Ministers Estate Agents
Pre War (born before 1945) Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965) Generation X (born 1966-1979) Generation Y (born 1980-2000)
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016

15. 15Veracity Index 2015 Generational Analysis | January 2016 | Version 1 | PUBLIC
…this includes NHS managers, where the views of Generation Y and
the Pre War generation are reversed
35%
43%
48%
60%
51%
48%
44%
35%
Pre War (born before 1945)Baby Boomers (born 1945-65)Generation X (born 1966-1979)Generation Y (born 1980-2000)
Trust to tell the truth Not trust to tell the truth
Managers in the NHS:
% trust to tell the truth
Base: 990 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 5th December 2015 – 4th January 2016

16. www.ipsos-mori.com/
Document Name Here | Month 2015 | Version 1 | Public | Internal Use Only | Confidential | Strictly Confidential (DELETE CLASSIFICATION) 16
Bobby Duffy
Managing Director, Ipsos MORI Public Affairs
Bobby.Duffy@ipsos.com
@BobbyIpsosMORI
Michael Clemence
Senior Research Executive
Michael.Clemence@ipsos.com
@mwclemence