Councillors more trusted than MPs, LGA poll finds
13 May 2014 02:19 PM
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:
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