Government trusted more than Banks and Media

The 10th edition of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer released this week revealed a substantial drop in people’s trust in banks, energy and media. The edition covers the survey of opinion formers in the UK and other countries. The percentage of those aged 35 to 64 who trust in banks declined by 16 points to 31% while Energy and Media both dropped 13 points to 32% and 21% respectively. Meantime the government continues gaining confidence with the percentage of people trusting in it rising from 16% in 2007 to 34% in 2008 and 41% in 2009.

The findings reflected in the 2009 Trust Barometer prompt that Business and Government in the UK need to cooperate in solving the global challenges. Thus the poll of opinion formers aged 25 to 64 showed that:

•    71% want Government to impose stricter regulations and control on all industry sectors;
•    73% think the Government should intervene in the financial industry using whatever means it sees appropriate – compared with 43% in the US, 74% in Germany and 75% in France;
•    61% say that Government is most responsible for solving the financial crisis (compared with 22% for business) – higher than the rest of the EU countries surveyed;
•    70% think Business must partner with others (Government, Advocacy Groups, NGOs) to solve issues such as the financial crisis, global warming and energy costs