Trust in Professions

New global polling data from the 2026 Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index, conducted among over 23,000 adults across 31 countries between 19 June and 3 July 2026, reveals a sharp divide in how the British public perceives the integrity and reliability of different professions.

New research conducted in partnership with the FT finds widespread dissatisfaction with the UK governing system as well as the people who are in it. But still politicians are second in the list of professions who are considered to have the skills and qualities required to be a UK Prime Minister, behind business leaders.

New Ipsos polling Ipsos explores how Britons follow stories about politics and current affairs, and who they will listen to most when it comes to deciding how to vote.

This year's Ipsos Veracity Index reveals that the proportions of people who say they trust politicians and Government Ministers to tell the truth have reached their lowest scores since the survey began in 1983.

Trust in politicians drops to expenses crises levels

Ben Page opens this month’s edition of Ipsos Update with his reflections on a global environment of continued uncertainty. Between heatwaves and the continuing rise of inflation – a dark cloud overshadowing many of this month’s articles – consumer anxiety is evident.
We also focus on creativity in advertising and learn how behavioural science can lead to more successful product testing, alongside new global surveys exploring the public’s views on the most trustworthy professions and the legal status of abortion.

The public are very sceptical when it comes to trusting politicians to tell the truth, according to a new Ipsos poll

The 2022 Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index reveals that doctors and scientists are considered the world’s most trustworthy professions. The Index has tracked trust in many professions since 2018.

In the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Monitor, we again find that, despite popular belief, the world is not experiencing a ‘crisis of trust’. Furthermore, the monitor reveals that pharmaceuticals, banking companies, and governments are now seen as more trustworthy than they were three years ago.