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Dear John,

“The fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era,” Keir Starmer said just after his party won last year’s General Election. The Prime Minister has pledged to “clean up politics,” to “restore standards in public life” and to “stop the revolving door between government and the companies that ministers are supposed to regulate.”

A commendable ambition. But we’re now nearing 500 days of Starmer’s premiership, and public trust doesn’t seem to be getting better. In fact, it looks like it’s on the brink of death.

70% disapprove of the Government (and only 13% approve). A recent FindOutNow poll ([link removed]) shows just 15% intend to vote for Labour – behind both the Greens and the Conservatives, and giving them less than half of the vote they won the last election with. Surveys continue to show that people are fed up with politics, politicians, and increasingly, democracy itself.
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And this week's events are just dumping fuel on that fire.

It’s hard to pin down a definitive explanation for Tuesday’s late-night briefing war, in which No. 10 staff appear to have publicly accused the Health Secretary Wes Streeting (among other “feral MPs”) of plotting a coup against the Prime Minister. For many, the whole ordeal has made the Government look insecure and paranoid – and once again raised questions about Starmer’s Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney. ([link removed])

But whatever you think happened there, one thing is clear: to most of the public this looks like a government turning inward on itself, embroiled in internal squabbles and losing control of its own narrative. It’s exactly the kind of insular, dysfunctional, and party-first politics people thought they were voting to leave behind.

And on top of that this week – it really was one of those weeks – Downing Street is also under fire over comms director Tim Allan’s minority stake in a lobbying firm, after reports he discussed government business with a consultant there – prompting Greens, Lib Dems, and Conservatives to demand an investigation into a clear appearance of a conflict of interest.

It’s nothing like the cronyism and lies of the Johnson years or the chaos of Liz Truss, but it certainly isn’t a great look. Paired with ongoing events at the BBC ([link removed]) , this week’s headlines are likely going to further cement the public’s cynicism – and give another boost to Nigel Farage waiting in the wings.

It cuts back to what we’ve been saying since Starmer took office: this country is running on a massive democratic deficit, a black hole of lost trust that threatens to engulf our politics completely. It’s not about individual leaders, but about the systems they operate in.

Westminster still rewards secrecy, insularity, and unaccountable power. Without acknowledging the need for a structural reset, Starmer’s ambitions to restore trust are unlikely to ever get off the ground.

That’s why Open Britain will keep fighting for the reforms that actually rebuild faith in politics: transparency, stronger standards, real accountability, and a proportional democracy that works for people, not parties, big donors, or insiders.

Real trust will only return when our political system is revamped to serve the public openly, honestly and fairly.

All the best,

Matt Gallagher

Communications Officer

Open Britain
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