Scottish Government

Trust in Government

8. It is usually thought desirable that the public should at least have a degree of trust in government and public officials. Certainly, if the public continually questions and doubts what government is doing and why, it is less likely either to get involved in political decision-making or to engage with government initiatives. The most likely results of this is that government proves less effective. Of course, it is possible for government institutions to be trusted in some respects but not in others. However, as one of the aims of devolution was to ensure that Scotland's distinctive needs and wishes were reflected more adequately in how the country was governed, the Scottish Social Attitudes survey has asked its respondents how much they trust, first, the devolved institutions and, second, the UK government, 'to work in Scotland's best interests'; possible answers are: 'just about always', 'most of the time', 'only some of the time', and 'almost never'. Figure 1 shows what proportion have said either 'just about always' or 'most of the time' for the UK government and Scottish institutions in each year between 1999 and 2005. ²

Figure 1 Trust in the UK and devolved Government, 1999-2005

Sample size: 1999 = 1482, 2000 = 1663, 2001 = 1605, 2002 = 1665, 2003 = 1508, 2004 = 1637, 2005 = 1549

9. There has consistently been a far higher level of trust in the willingness of the devolved level of government to work in Scotland's interests than there has in the UK government. Evidently, in providing Scots with their own tier of government, devolution has provided them with a set of institutions that they are more inclined to believe has their country's interests at heart. At the same time, however, we should note that the very high levels of trust in the devolved institutions that existed in the immediate wake of the first Scottish Parliament election have not been maintained. But perhaps it was inevitable that the high hopes and expectations engendered by that election would eventually fade somewhat.

10. Who particularly trusts the devolved institutions more than the UK government? In particular is there any evidence that those who belong to groups that are usually less likely to be involved in politics are particularly likely to trust the devolved institutions? Table 1 shows two instances where those in different social groups do vary significantly in their likelihood of trusting the Scottish Executive more than they do the UK government. ³

Table 1 Comparative trust in Scottish Executive, by age and education, 2005

11. Previous studies have demonstrated that younger people tend to be more inclined than older people to place trust in politicians. Meanwhile those who have been in receipt of higher education are consistently more likely than those with no educational qualifications to profess such trust (Curtice and Jowell, 1997; Bromley and Given, 2005). Thus if the devolved institutions have been particularly successful at securing the trust of those who are usually less likely trust political institutions, we would expect to discover that older people and those who do not have a degree are particularly likely to trust the Scottish Executive. Table 1 demonstrates that the opposite is true.

12. If the aspirations of the Consultative Steering Group were being achieved then we would also anticipate that those with little or no interest in politics would be particularly likely to trust the Scottish Executive to a greater extent than they do the UK government. Instead, as Table 2 shows, we find a strong pattern in the opposite direction. Over half of those with a 'great deal' or 'quite a lot' of interest in politics trust the Scottish Executive more than they do the UK government, compared with only just over a third of those with no interest in politics at all.

Table 2 Comparative trust in Scottish Executive, by interest in politics and strength of party identification, 2005

13. There is, however, one instance where the devolved institutions do appear to have had particular success in securing the trust of a group that usually does not evince an especially high level of trust. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, those who have a strong commitment to a political party are usually more willing than are those with either a weak commitment or none at all to say that they trust politicians. However, Table 2 (above) shows that those who only have a 'not very strong' attachment to a party are particularly likely to trust the Scottish Executive more than they do the UK Government. ⁴

14. However, Table 2 also shows that those who do not identify with a party at all are not particularly likely to trust the Scottish Executive more than they do the UK government. So the relative success of the devolved institutions in particularly securing the trust of those who are usually less engaged in politics does not extend to this politically unattached group.

15. As we anticipated in the introduction, willingness to trust the Scottish Executive also reflects constitutional preferences (Table 3). The minority that would prefer Scotland not to have its own parliament is particularly unlikely to exhibit greater trust in the Scottish Executive than in the UK government. On the other hand, it appears not to matter at all whether someone would prefer the Scottish Parliament to be an independent parliament or a devolved one.

16. Again as we anticipated, the perceived performance of the devolved institutions also seems to make a difference. Those who think the Scottish Executive is good at listening to people's views before it takes decisions are relatively likely to trust it. Of course we cannot be sure which always comes first, the perception that the Executive is good at listening or trust in the Executive. But we can reasonably assume that the more that people think the Executive listens, the more likely they are to trust it.

17. Equally, those who doubt that the Scottish Parliament building should ever have been built are also less likely to trust the Executive. Here too it is debatable how far trust in the devolved level of government is affected by people's perceptions of the merits of the parliament building rather than vice-versa. Nevertheless, two points would seem to be true. First attitudes towards the Executive are interwoven with those towards the Parliament, perhaps because people find it difficult to distinguish between the two institutions (Bromley and Given, 2005). As a result, what happens at Holyrood can affect the reputation of the Executive - and vice-versa. Second, the row about the cost of and delays to the parliament building has certainly not helped to enhance the reputation of the devolved institutions.

Table 3 Comparative trust in Scottish Executive, by attitudes towards how Scotland is governed, 2005

18. Some commentators have suggested that the critical coverage that the devolved institutions have received in sections of the media since 1999 has also helped to undermine trust and confidence in the Parliament and the Executive. Meanwhile, Bromley and Given (2005) noted that even after taking into account other possible influences, those who read a tabloid newspaper evinced a lower level of trust in the devolved institutions than broadsheet readers. This finding is replicated in our 2005 survey (even after we take into account all of the other influences we have considered so far). As Table 4 shows, readers of tabloid newspapers are less likely than either readers of a broadsheet or those who do not read a newspaper regularly to say they trust the Scottish Executive to a greater extent than they do the UK Government.

Table 4 Comparative trust in Scottish Executive, by newspaper reading habits, 2005

19. People in Scotland are then clearly more likely to trust the devolved institutions to look after Scotland's interests than they are the UK government. Moreover, this is true of all sections of Scottish society. On that count at least the aspirations of the advocates of devolution have seemingly been fulfilled. However, the level of trust in the devolved institutions is far from immutable, as it appears to depend in part at least on both their perceived performance and the media coverage that they receive. It is a perception that has to be nurtured rather than assumed. Meanwhile, our survey provides little evidence that the devolved institutions have been particularly successful in securing the trust of those who are usually least likely to trust politicians or political institutions.