Britons Trust Politicians Less Than Estate Agents, Journalists: Ipsos Poll

The fresh poll indicates a serious challenge for politicians in the light of future general elections in the United Kingdom. Doctors have been named the most credible professionals, with 90 percent of respondents trusting them.

MOSCOW, January 5 (Sputnik) – Only 16 percent of British people responding to a new poll trust politicians, compared with 22 percent trusting journalists and estate agents, according to statistics published by the Ipsos MORI organization Monday.

Politicians trusted less than estate agents, bankers or journalists https://t.co/J02QgLO5F7 pic.twitter.com/ARkQEr3ZK9

— Ipsos MORI (@IpsosMORI) 5 января 2015

"These long term trends remind us that the crisis of trust in politicians is nothing new – we were measuring similarly low levels of trust over 30 years ago," Director of the Social Research Institute at Ipsos MORI Bobby Duffy said in a news release.

He stressed that the trend is not new, but that it poses a serious challenge for politicians in the light of future general elections in the United Kingdom.

The poll indicates that doctors have been named the most credible profession, with 90 percent of respondents trusting them to tell the truth. Other highly trusted professions include teachers, police and scientists.

"This long-running study also shows that trust levels are not fixed, and do shift as the context changes – which is seen particularly in the increasing trust in scientists and civil servants and decreasing trust in the clergy," he added.

The organization has been measuring the credibility level of key professions since 1983. According to Ipsos MORI, the low level of trust in politicians has existed for a long time. The record low level of trust in politicians was observed in 2009 following the expenses scandal, when several members of Parliament were accused of re-purposing tax revenue for private interest.