Trust in the UK

Robert Phillips, UK CEO

26 January 2010
 Business Trust in Britain Remains Stable, if Sceptical

•  Trust in Business, Media and NGOs: No major fluctuations

•  NGOs (51%); Business (47%); Media (27%)
•  10-year stability trend identified in 2009 remains in place

60
56%
53% 53% 54% 52%
50 51%

46% 44% 47%

43% 45% 45%
43% 44% 45%
40 41% 41%
37% 38%

NGOs
30
27% Business
28% 27%
25% 24% Media
21% 22%
20 19%

10

0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2009 2010
January June
 Business Trust in Britain Remains Stable, if Sceptical
Government More Volatile
•  Trust in Government: Down and volatile
•  6-point drop to 35%
•  Low of 16% recorded in 2007; high of 41% in 2009
•  Only a third of opinion elites trust Government in 2010 Election year

60
56%
53% 53% 54% 52%
50 51%

46% 44% 47%

43% 44% 45% 45%
43% 45%
40 41% 41% 41% 41%
37% 38%
34% 35%
33% NGOs
32%
30 Business
27% 28% 27% 27%
25% Government
24%
21% 22% Media
20 19%
17% 16%

10

0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2009 2010
January June
 Nuances, Context and Comparisons

•  UK ‘stability’ in Business contrasts with bounces elsewhere

•  Italy up 26 points to 59%, though Russia drops 10 to 42%
•  Dominant UK industry sectors: all score low Trust ratings

•  UK Business scepticism contrasts sharply with optimism

elsewhere
•  Most notably China (62%) and India (67%)
•  But France and Germany more sceptical than UK: 36% and 40%

•  UK contrasts with stable and more optimistic European

‘consensus democracies’
•  eg. relationship between Business and Government:
Netherlands (Government: 73%; Business: 75%); also Sweden

•  UK: good, not great, Europeans?

•  UK support for EU membership is lowest of all EU countries
(72%)
•  20 points below top score of 92% in Italy; Ireland at 91%
 Industries & Sectors:
Banks Continue To Plummet,
While Energy and Auto Rise Again

74% 80% 76%

62% 58%
61% 58%
60% 55%
58% 55%
54% 48%
64% 58%
64% 60%
57% 51%
62% 53%
44% 34%
44% 37%
48% 31%
A26-38. Now I would like to focus on your trust in different industry sectors. Please tell me how much you TRUST businesses in each of
the following industries to do what is right. Again, please use a nine-point scale where one means that you "DO NOT TRUST THEM AT
ALL" and nine means that you "TRUST THEM A GREAT DEAL.”
(Top 4 Box) Informed publics ages 35-64 in 22 countries, the EU, and the UK
 Trust Is A Now A Real Line Of Business
More So In UK Than Globally

•  ‘A company I can trust’ (72%) is top driver of corporate reputation in the UK

•  UK is the only country to put Trust in the top spot (by 8 point margin) vs global
position at number three (66%)
•  ‘Transparent and honest business practices’ (64%) and ‘high quality products
and services’ (62%) complete the top three – both in the UK and globally

•  ‘Financial Returns’ is least important consideration (out of 10)

•  In the UK: 24% vs globally: 38%

•  At the bottom in the US as well – at 45%

•  Complex inter-dependence of stakeholders confirmed

•  55% believe in ‘all stakeholders are equally important’ (vs 53% globally)
 Changes in the Trust Landscape of Britain
A Significant Three Years

•  NGOs lead institutional Trust

•  NGOs have outranked Business, Government and
Media since 2008

•  Bankers join the Trust ‘deficient’ sectors

•  Bankers fall to bottom of sector ranking;
20 point drop since 2007 to 21%
•  Media and Insurance sectors consistently rank low
-9
•  Credible sources of information have also
become increasingly fragile -12

•  Friends and Peers rise and dip

•  Media struggling: significant drops for radio, TV and
newspapers since 2008
 But Always Listen to Auntie!

•  BBC is the most significant media influencer for political news:

59% share across all media
•  Battleground for political news is on TV (61%) and online (20%)
•  Opinion elites are less reliant on TV news (37%) and more likely
to go online first (35%)

UK supplementary research: 1000 UK voters polled between 15-18th January 2010

 UK Trust Findings
What Business, NGOs, Politics & Media Need To Do Next

•  Paradigm shift is confirmed towards partnership and societal benefit in a

stakeholder society
•  Business must not overlook NGOs in this context: partnership on global issues is a driver
of trust (76%)

•  The fate of Business and Government is intertwined

•  58% in UK believe Government will have influence over banks and financial services
•  77% say repaying bail out money will restore trust in business

•  The earning/ restoration of Trust poses similar challenges for Business and
Government
•  Transparency and honesty (64%) a primary driver of reputation
•  Multiple points of responsibility and Trust in a stakeholder society

•  Media must recognise and embrace long-term structural change

•  Fragility of credibility of all sources of information
•  We are all media now – companies and citizens alike
 and finally…
Trust Richard, Trust Me
More In 2010 Than 2009

Trust in UK CEOs enjoys highest ever score in 2010

•  33%: up 11 points over 2009; vs. low of 16% in 2007

•  still not as credible as Academics (+ 2 points to 69%)
and Analysts (+8 points to 60%)
•  More trusted than regular employee (23%)

CEOs and Political Leaders must now Act & Do. Talking is
not enough. Multiple proof points are absolutely key.
 Edelman Trust Barometer 2010

Richard Stefan Stern Damian Green

Edelman FT MP