Around Firle Road, Seaside, we met voters who are still making up their minds about how to vote on 4 July. It is always important for campaigners to remember that most people don’t think about politics very much, even in an election. We chatted to people about their businesses and neighbourhood, but there were plenty of ‘sorry, not interested’ and ‘not going to vote, you’re all as bad as each other’.
The latest British Attitudes Survey (BAS) out this week shows that trust in politics has hit a record low. Dissatisfaction with the way the UK is governed is now at 79%, higher than in expenses scandal in 2010 and the Tories’ sleaze in 1995. This is very worrying indeed, because without a degree of trust in the system, democracy falters. And when faith in democracy declines, populism and demagoguery fills the gap. The answer is two-fold: politicians who are trustworthy, and a system that works for people. Labour will deliver both.
