pension333: Changing British attitudes: press and politicians out, royal family in

The British public has far less confidence in its institutions than it did thirty years ago - especially the media. Which public bodies have lost our trust?
Find out how attitudes to welfare are changing
Test your knowledge on British social attitudes

It is not just attitudes to welfare that are changing ? the latest British social attitudes survey from NatCen shows that public opinion about the institutions that affect our lives are rapidly changing too. Public confidence in the UK's banking system is at an all-time low ? as is trust in the British press. We've looked at all the trends below.

Banking crisis

Of all British public institutions, banking has shown the most rapid decline in public confidence ? from 9 out of 10 Britons believing the sector was well-run in 1983 to less than 2 in 10 thinking so today. The press has also seen a 26 percentage-point decline in public confidence, more than double the fall in faith for the police. Trust in the BBC has fallen over this period, though less rapidly than the press in general ? from 72% confidence in the institution in 1983 to 63% in 2012.

Popularity of politics

The survey also reveals the complexity of British attitudes about politics. The notion of disengagement doesn't quite capture the full picture ? more Britons are expressing an interest in politics than they were in the 1980s.

A greater proportion of British people are reporting that they not only understand politics, but believe they can influence it ? which may point to the empowering effects of non-traditional political activism.

That rise in positive attitudes has not carried over to UK political parties and politicians. In 1987, most people said they had a "very strong" or "fairly strong" affiliation with a political party ? the majority now lies with those who say it is "not very strong" or they have "none" at all. Of those who do identify with a political party, Labour has seen a rise in support from 26% in 2009 to 36% in 2012.

Just 18% of the population trust government to place the needs of the nation above the interests of their own party and when asked if they trust a politician of any party to tell the truth when they are in a tight corner, 93% said "almost never" or "only some of the time".

More monarchists

The UK is still a long way off its 1980s levels of royal support, when 65% said it was "very important" for Britain to continue to have a monarchy. But there has been a fascinating turn-around in opinion ? from 27% thinking this in 2006 to 45% expressing strong support for the royal family in this year's latest survey.

2014

Surveys like these face a major challenge ? they need to keep the questions consistent enough to measure changes in attitudes over time while also keeping the questions relevant to a modern audience. For example, past questions about medical treatment by homosexuals have become outdated and inappropriate but this year's findings may call for the addition of new ones.

The demise of traditional institutions and changing British habits might mean that next year, questions about public trust in the defence sector, food companies and technology manufacturers have a relevance that's hard to neglect.