Enough of Experts? Ipsos MORI Veracity Index 2016
A joint report from Mumsnet and Ipsos uses this 2016's Veracity Index and online focus groups of Mumsnet users to explore their opinions about trust, truthfulness, information and experts during the EU referendum campaign.
A joint report from Mumsnet and Ipsos uses this year’s Veracity Index and online focus groups of Mumsnet users to explore their opinions about trust, truthfulness, information and experts during the EU referendum campaign.
The 2016 Ipsos Veracity Index, our annual index of which jobs and professionals are most trusted by the public finds that nurses are the most trusted profession in Britain, followed closely by doctors, while politicians once again bring up the rear. Public trust in politicians has slipped a considerable six percentage points since last year, and they are now trusted to tell the truth by just 15% of the British public.
- Nurses, included in the study for the first time are trusted to tell the truth by 93%, while doctors, are trusted by 91%;
- Government ministers are the second least trusted profession (20%), and have less credibility with the public than journalists (24%), estate agents (30% - five percentage points higher than 2015) and bankers (37%); women’s trust in journalists is significantly lower than men’s, with journalists being trusted by 28% of men but 21% of women;
- There has been an increase in distrust in pollsters this year, to 42% (49% say they trust them) and there has also been rises in distrust in civil servants and business leaders.
- At the end of a year during which we were told that the public had had enough of experts, 80% say they trust scientists. Economists, who are included in the index for the first time, come in the middle of the table, trusted by 48% - coincidentally exactly the proportion of the electorate that voted ‘Remain’. Economists are trusted more than trade union officials (43%) and bankers (37%), but less than civil servants (56%) and the ordinary man or woman in the street (65%) and hairdressers (68%).
