Minister warns people’s lack of faith in politics must be tackled

0 David Lidington says there could be lasting damage Politicians must address the lack of faith in the system held by much of the public or risk doing “lasting damage” to mainstream politics, a senior government minister has warned.

David Lidington, the de facto deputy prime minister, made the warning after new research revealed fewer than one in ten have “significant faith” in any layer of government acting in their best interests.

The figures showed four in ten Scots were unaware that the devolved governments in the two countries made or enforced laws that applied to them.

The polling carried out for the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think tank also found that 40 per cent of people had “no trust at all” in the House of Commons.

In a foreword to a CPS report, Who Governs Britain?, due to be today, Cabinet Office Minister Mr Lidington said: “The stark polling results this paper sets out show that too many people simply don’t know where power sits, or have faith in the people at all tiers of government who discharge it.

“Whatever party you are in, that should be troubling. If individuals feel less powerful and less connected to their elected representatives, we must take steps to understand why - and take steps to change it - or risk lasting damage to mainstream politics.”

The poll of 2,000 people carried out by Deltapoll also found that none of the people polled could correctly identify all the levels of government in the place where they lived.