Johnson faces trust crisis as sleaze shatters faith in MPs

Trust in politicians to act in the national interest rather than for themselves has fallen dramatically since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures contained in a disturbing new study into the state of British democracy.

The polling data from YouGov for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows a particularly sharp fall in trust in the few weeks since the Owen Paterson scandal triggered a rash of Tory sleaze scandals.

While the polls have asked about politicians of all colours, the main opposition parties now believe the Tories are particularly vulnerable on questions of trust and sleaze, offering them a chance to break through.

The poll findings come amid reports from the Liberal Democrats that they have dramatically closed the Tory lead in the previously safe seat of North Shropshire, where a byelection will take place next week following the resignation of Paterson, who was found to have broken parliamentary lobbying rules.

On Saturday, there was more unwelcome news for Johnson as police said they were considering complaints from Labour MPs that the prime minister and his No 10 staff held Christmas parties in breach of Covid regulations a year ago. Labour backbenchers Neil Coyle and Barry Gardiner have written to Scotland Yard asking police to investigate reports that two parties were held in the run-up to last Christmas at a time when such gatherings were banned.

Nandy said news that the government had delayed a white paper on levelling up because of disagreements over strategy and the definition of the term showed they had never been serious about plans to make the UK more equal in the first place.