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Councillors more trusted than MPs, LGA poll finds
Three in four people trust their local councillor more than their MP to make decisions about their community, a poll has revealed.
The findings, from the Local Government Association (LGA), back up a recent IPPR North report which showed two-thirds of people trust local councils, compared to a third who trust parliament.
The poll, carried out by Populus for the LGA, shows 76 per cent of people trust their local councillor most to make decisions about how services are provided in their areas. By contrast, just nine per cent of people trust their MP most and six per cent trust government ministers to make these decisions.
When asked about organisations, latest figures show 77 per cent of people trust their council most to make decisions about how services are provided in their area, compared to 71 per cent in October. The proportion who trust central government most stayed broadly the same over the same period, with the latest figure at 13 per cent, while the number of people saying they would not trust either fell from 16 per cent to eight per cent.
Cllr Peter Fleming, Chair of the LGA's Improvement and Innovation Board, said:
"This polling highlights the high level of trust people have in their local councils and councillors when it comes to making decisions about their communities. Despite 40 per cent cuts to council budgets since 2010 councils are trusted to take care of vulnerable children, provide social services and housing and run essential frontline services in their areas.
"Local government is a highly trusted part of the public sector and central government should recognise this vote of confidence in councils by devolving more power to communities.
"Decisions about local areas should be made at a local level and with such high levels of trust in councils and councillors by the public, we hope the Government will invest more power in councils and local decision makers."
Note to Editors
Between 24 and 26 January 2014, a representative random sample of 1,008 British adults (aged 18 or over) was polled by telephone. The polling was conducted by Populus Data Solutions.
The full results are outlined below:
Full article, tables & related links
