Less than half of Scots trust Scottish Government to deliver in best interests

Less than half of Scots trust the Scottish Government to work in the best interests of the country, according to a wide-ranging survey.

Just 47 per cent of respondents said they trusted the government “just about always” or “most of the time” to deliver, the lowest level in 25 years.

A third said they trusted the government “only some of the time” while one in five said they “almost never” trusted it to work in their best interests.

But trust in the UK Government to work in Scotland’s interest remains lower, as it has for the entirety of devolution, despite a slight uptick in recent years.

One in five (21 per cent) Scots trusted the UK Government at the time of the survey last year, up from 15 per cent in 2019.

The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey is a long-running research project tracking social, political and moral attitudes in Scotland. It is run by the Scottish Centre for Social Research.

The findings also found the proportion of people who felt the Scottish Parliament gave them more of a say in how Scotland is governed has decreased from previously years, from 56 to 45 per cent.

Over a third (38 per cent) felt the parliament had made “no difference” to giving ordinary people a say.

Neither the Scottish nor UK Government are considered to be good at listening to people’s views before taking decisions, though the Scottish Government outperforms its UK counterparts here too.

Just over a third (35 per cent) felt the Scottish Government was good at listening – down from 51 per cent in 2019 – compared to just 12 per cent who thought the UK Government was good at listening.

Scots felt the Scottish Government’s highest priority should be improving the economy, with 42 per cent of respondents selecting this from a list of possibilities. Second highest was health (15 per cent), then improving housing (10 per cent).

An overwhelming majority of respondents (83 per cent) agreed the standard of living had fallen in the past year.

More than half of people were dissatisfied with how the NHS is being run, with just under a quarter saying they were satisfied. This is the first time since 2005 where more people were dissatisfied than satisfied with the way the NHS runs.

On tax, almost half of respondents (47 per cent) supported increasing taxes to spend more on health, education and social benefits. This is down from 55 per cent in 2019.

But only 12 per cent of people thought taxes and spending should be decreased, while 38 per cent supporting maintaining them at current levels.

Parliamentary business minister Jamie Hepburn said: "The survey demonstrates continued support for the redistribution of wealth and an increasing desire among people to see the economy grow. This aligns with the Scottish Government’s commitments and how we are working hard to provide support to those who need it most."

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: "Labour has got rid of the Tory government and started the process of delivering change across the UK – but with trust in the SNP government at a record low it’s clear we need change in Scotland too."