Politicians remain the least trusted profession in Britain, but their ratings have been unmoved by recent harassment revelations according to the 2017 Ipsos MORI Veracity Index of public trust in professions

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1Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
November 2017
Ipsos MORI
Veracity Index 2017

2. 2Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
Veracity Index 2017 – all professions overview
94%
91%
87%
85%
83%
81%
76%
74%
67%
65%
64%
59%
54%
50%
50%
45%
41%
38%
36%
27%
27%
26%
19%
17%
Nurses
Doctors
Teachers
Professors
Scientists
Judges
Weather Forecasters
The Police
Television news readers
Clergy/priests
The ordinary man/woman in the street
Civil Servants
Lawyers
Pollsters
Charity chief executives
Trade union officials
Local councillors
Bankers
Business leaders
Estate agents
Journalists
Professional footballers
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: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017

3. 3Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
The five most trusted professions, 2017
94%
91%
87%
85%
83%
Nurses
Doctors
Teachers
Professors
Scientists
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
2016 score:
93%
91%
88%
-
80%

4. 4Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
The five least trusted professions, 2017
27%
27%
26%
19%
17%
Estate Agents
Journalists
Professional Footballers
Government Ministers
Politicians generally
% trust to tell the truth:
Base: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
2016 score:
30%
24%
-
20%
15%

5. 5Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
89
84
76 76
70 66
54 51
38 35 34
24
13
7 5
-100
-50
0
50
100
-4
-14
-21 -24
-41 -42 -43
-59 -63
-100
-50
0
50
100
Net trust in professions
Nurses Doctors Teachers Prof-
essors
Scien-
tists
Judges Weather
Forecas-
ters
The
Police
TV News
Readers
Clergy/
Priests
Person
in the
street
Civil
Servants
Lawyers Pollsters Charity
Chief
Execs
Trade
Union
officials
Local
council-
llors Bankers
Business
Leaders
Estate
Agents
Journ-
alists
Profes-
sional
Footb-
allers
Govt.
Ministers
Politicians
Base: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
Net trust = % trust to tell the truth - % do not trust to tell the truth

6. 6Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
Key movers in public trust over time
85
83
74
65
59
45
36
27
0
25
50
75
100
1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017
Professors (+15ppt since 1983)
Scientists (+20 ppt since 1997)
The Police (+13ppt since 1983)
Clergy/Priests (-20ppt since 1983)
Civil Servants (+34ppt since 1983)
Trade Union Officials (+27ppt since 1983)
Business Leaders (+11ppt since 1983)
Journalists (+8ppt since 1983)
% trust to tell the truth:
*: This profession listed for the first time in 2017
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

7. 7Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
All Veracity data, 1983 - 2017
0
25
50
75
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 2016 2017
Nurses Doctors Teachers Professors Judges
Scientists Clergy/Priests The Police TV news reader Ordinary Man/Woman in the street
Civil Servants Pollsters Economists Trade Union Officials Local Councillors
Business Leaders Bankers Managers in Local Gov Journalists Government Ministers
Politicians Generally Managers in the NHS Lawyers Hairdressers Builders
Charity Chief Executives Estate agents Weather Forecasters* Professional footballers*
% trust to tell the truth:
*: This profession listed for the first time in 2017
Base: c. 1,000 British adults aged 15+ per year

8. 8Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
Weather forecasters are less trusted by those with fewer qualifications
76%
22%
1%
Trust Do not trust Don't know
Ipsos MORI Veracity IndexBase: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
Would you tell me if you generally trust them to tell the truth, or not? Weather Forecasters
Qualifications held % Trust % Do not trust
Degree-level 88 10
A Level/equivalent 76 23
GCSE/equivalent 72 28
No formal qualifications 67 32
Age % Trust % Do not trust
15-34 72% 26%
35-54 74% 24%
55+ 81% 18%

9. 9Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
Red card on trust for footballers – except in London
26%
67%
7%
Trust Do not trust Don't know
Ipsos MORI Veracity IndexBase: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
Would you tell me if you generally trust them to tell the truth, or not? Professional Footballers
Qualifications held % Trust % Do not trust
Degree-level 30 61
A Level/equivalent 22 71
GCSE/equivalent 21 74
No formal qualifications 30 63
Locale % Trust % Do not trust
Urban 35 57
London 42 52
Non-London urban 29 62
Suburban 24 69
Rural 19 72

10. 10Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
Gradients of trust by education exist for some “expert” roles, but are
much weaker for others
Education level Weather
Forecasters
Pollsters Civil Servants Doctors Scientists Charity Chief
executives
Degree-level 88% 60% 71% 93% 93% 64%
A Level/equivalent 76% 56% 70% 96% 88% 61%
GCSE/equivalent 72% 44% 55% 91% 82% 45%
No formal qualifications 67% 43% 42% 84% 70% 31%
Ipsos MORI Veracity IndexBase: 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
Education level Teachers Journalists Professors Judges Police Person on the
street
Degree-level 94% 35% 92% 88% 81% 72%
A Level/equivalent 90% 27% 90% 86% 77% 66%
GCSE/equivalent 82% 22% 86% 79% 70% 60%
No formal qualifications 80% 24% 75% 68% 68% 56%

11. 11Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 |
Trust in politicians has been unaffected by revelations of
harassment in Westminster – they remain very low
17%
20%
19%
22%
80%
78%
78%
76%
20-26 Oct
(Pre)
3-13 Nov
(Post)
20-26 Oct
(Pre)
3-13 Nov
(Post)
Tell the truth Not tell the truth
Ipsos MORI Veracity Index
Bases: Pre survey - 998 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 20 - 26 October 2017
Post survey - 993 British adults aged 15+, fieldwork 3 – 13 November 2017
Would you tell me if you generally trust them to tell the truth, or not?
Politicians
generally
Government
Ministers

12. www.ipsos-mori.com/
Veracity Index 2017 | November 2017 | Version 1 | 12
Gideon Skinner
Research Director
Gideon.Skinner@ipsos.com
@GideonSkinner
Michael Clemence
Research Manager
Michael.Clemence@ipsos.com
@mwclemence