6 in 10 do not trust Boris Johnson to tell the truth, nearly twice as many as Keir Starmer

New research by Ipsos shows the public are very sceptical when it comes to trusting politicians to tell the truth, especially the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Around 6 in 10 say he generally does not tell the truth very often or never (61%) while fewer than 1 in 5 (18%) say he tells the truth at least most of the time.

Distrust of Mr Johnson has risen from nearer 2 in 5 (39%) when last polled in June 2020, whilst trust has dropped for around three in ten (31%).

Men are more likely to trust the outgoing Prime Minister to tell the truth than women (23% vs. 13% respectively).

Even among those who voted for him, people are more inclined to distrust Boris Johnson. While 29% of those who voted Conservative in 2019 trust him to tell the truth most or all of the time, 46% do not. Distrust increases to 80% of 2019 Labour voters, of whom only 8% trust him.

In comparison, opinion is split as to whether the Leader of the Opposition can be trusted to tell the truth. Three in 10 (30%) say they trust Keir Starmer most or all of the time while a third (33%) say they do not.  The proportion trusting Sir Starmer remains relatively unchanged since June 2020 (when it was 33%), but distrust has risen from 19%. However, among 2019 Labour voters, 45% say they trust him to tell the truth at least most of the time.

Looking at Boris Johnson’s potential replacements, both candidates see similar levels of trust While 22% of Britons trust Liz Truss to tell the truth all or most of the time, 23% say the same for Rishi Sunak. Both lack the trust of nearly half of Britons (45%, 46% respectively).

Among 2019 Conservative voters however, Liz Truss sees slightly higher levels of trust. More than a third (36%) expect her to tell the truth most or all of the time, while 29% do not. Meanwhile, 30% expect Rishi Sunak to generally tell the truth; 36% do not.

Looking at MPs more broadly, Britons are more likely to have trust in their own MP than MPs in general.

Three in 10 (30%) trust their own representative (-2 percentage points since June 2020) but this falls to 19% when asked about MPs in general (unchanged). Similarly, only 18% trust Government ministers to tell the truth (-3), half (50%) do not (+10).

Kelly Beaver MBE, Chief Executive, UK and Ireland at Ipsos, said:

This poll illustrates clearly the “trust problem” that Boris Johnson has with the British public.  And with almost one in two Britons not expecting either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to tell the truth, it shows that both his potential replacements have a way to go to gain the trust of the public.
However, this does not necessarily point to smooth sailing for Labour. Keir Starmer’s ratings show that he has not yet been able to establish himself as more “trustworthy” alternative, and the low esteem in which all politicians are held serves as a reminder of the task in hand for all the party leaders.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,129 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus on 12th-13th August 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.