British public’s faith in politics is ‘worse than during the expenses scandal’, according to damning new survey

The British public’s faith in the political system is in a worse state than it was during the MPs’ expenses scandal, according to a damning new survey. 

Some 72 per cent of those polled felt either “quite a lot” or “a great deal” of improvement was needed, while only a quarter were happy with how Brexit was being handled. 

The findings, reported by the Hansard Society, paint a bleak picture of how potential voters feel about UK politics. 

Another daunting stat is that three quarters feel the main political parties are “so divided within themselves that they cannot serve the best interests of the country”. 

And, amid growing questions surrounding Theresa May’s leadership, 54 per cent of people said they wanted a “strong leader” who would potentially be willing to “break the rules”. 

The Hansard Society’s director Ruth Fox, speaking on Politics Live, said: “Satisfaction with our system of governing has always been pretty low but we’re seeing that satisfaction is at an all time low, lower now than it was at the time of the MPs’ expenses scandal.

“Brexit has shone a light on the problems that already existed.”

However, she said disenchantment was not purely due to Brexit issues and added: “This is not a Brexit leaver, remainer frustration”. 

The survey formed the basis of the Audit of Public Engagement 16, aimed at trying to gauge “public opinion about politics and more broadly the general health of our democracy”. 

Questions were put to 1,198 adults aged over 18 chosen to form a “representative quota sample”. 

The audit has been running for 15 years and throughout 2009, when the expenses scandal took place, with the “opinions of the system of governing” at “their lowest point in the 15-year audit series”.