Just one in five think the current UK governing system works well
New polling conducted for the Financial Times on views of UK government and leadership reveals widespread dissatisfaction with the current UK governing system:
- Just one in five (20%) think the current UK governing system works well, while 73% think it needs improvement, including 44% who say it needs a great deal of improvement.
- Over half (56%) say the UK Parliament works badly - while views are less negative towards local councils, four in ten (39%) are critical of them too
- Half (48%) say neither the UK system of government works well, nor are the people in decision-making positions good enough for the job. While 30% have a positive view of the UK system, just 17% are positive about the people in power.
Underneath these figures is distrust and dissatisfaction with incumbency:
- Just 19% agree that at a time like the present, we should stick with parties and leaders who have been in power before, while 41% agree instead that we should consider electing parties or leaders with radical ideas who haven't been in power before
- Only 20% say that they would be more likely to vote for a political party or leader who has been in power before. Two thirds (64%) say they would be more likely to vote for a leader that listens to alternative points of view
Despite this, politicians come near the top of the list of the professions which are considered to have the skills and experience to make a good UK Prime Minister - 22% select politicians as fitting this description, behind only business leaders (25%).
The key qualities the public expect in a UK Prime Minister are honesty (60%), intelligence (52%) and reliability (51%). This ranking changes little between different subgroups, but other terms rank higher for backers of some political parties: strength and confidence are in the top five for 2024 Conservative Party voters; fairness ranks higher for Liberal Democrats; and for Reform UK voters strength and patriotism are top five qualities. Green Party voters rank compassion, understanding and commitment higher than others.
Technical note
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,215 adults aged 18-75 across the United Kingdom. Ipsos’ online omnibus was used for this survey with interviews conducted between 21 - 25 November 2025. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
