What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Tory austerity undermined the public’s trust that the Government acted “fairly” and “with integrity”, according to the government’s own analysis.

The document was accidentally revealed by an unnamed person, who revealed the damning assessment of the Tories’ flagship policy in front of Westminster photographers.

The dossier, apparently a joint study by the Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions, states: “Austerity and its fall-out undermined perceptions of competence and the belief that [the government is] acting fairly, openly and with integrity.”

(Image: @PoliticalPics/Twitter)

Labour Party Chair Ian Lavery said: “Austerity has done more than just destroy public trust, it has destroyed lives.

“The Tory party continues to treat being in government as some sort of cynical PR exercise.

“If they recognise that austerity has been a disaster, they should be focussing on bringing it to an end rather than how to spin it.”

It’s part of a study into the public’s trust in politics, government and the party in power, in a bid to build trust and improve government communications.

The authors named on the document are Laura de Moliere, the DWP's lead behavioural scientist, and Catherine Hunt, Head of Insight and Evaluation at the Cabinet Office.

A Government spokesperson said: "This document is a review of the latest academic literature, ensuring civil servants continue to communicate effectively with the public."

Here's the visible text of the document in full

Emphasis as in original text

The role of communication in rebuilding political trust

November 2018

Catherine Hunt, Cabinet Office & Laura De Moliere, DWP

1. What does this paper deliver?

This paper provides a definition of trust, based on a review of academic, public sector and media industry publications as well as our own research. It identifies the factors that underpin trust, looks at why trust in the institutions of government is falling and sets out how this affects us as communicators. It builds on the conclusions from our previous paper on trust from April 2018 and recommends a strategy for building trust and improving the effectiveness of our communication activity in the future.

2. Summary and recommendations

The main conclusions that can be drawn from this paper are:

An individual citizen’s trust in government (political trust) is based on his or her perceptions of its competence and whether or not is acting in the public (and the individual’s personal) interest, judged by the values that it governs by.

Competence is judged by the presence of five specific behavious: setting out a shared vision for the future; authenticity; taking perspectives; valuing others’ opinions; and transparency.

is judged by the presence of five specific behavious: setting out a shared vision for the future; authenticity; taking perspectives; valuing others’ opinions; and transparency. The core trust values that Government should demonstrate are fairness, openness and integrity

Citizens’ political trust and views of whether it is acting competently and int he public interest is influenced by:

Specific support for the political administration in power at any given point in time.

for the political administration in power at any given point in time. Diffuse support for the overall system of government and its institutions

Trust in politicians has always been low. However, the global recession in 2008 and subsequent period of austerity triggered a decline in diffuse trust for the system of government in many Western economies, including the UK.

Austerity and its fall-out undermined perceptions of competence and belief that it […] acting fairly, openly and with integrity

Rapid social, demographic and technological changes are […]

As diffuse trust in the institutions of government […]

parties is rising. People who support […]

parliament. This is also true for […]

The decline in political trust […]

which will in turn reduc[…]