Less than a third of voters '˜trust Government's Brexiteers'

Less than a third of voters trust the Government's so-called 'Three Brexiteers' to 'do what is right' regarding Brexit, a poll suggests.

British foreign minister Boris Johnson attends an EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council, in Brussels. Picture: AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNANDEMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (26 per cent), Brexit Secretary David Davis (24 per cent) and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox (20 per cent) trailed Prime Minister Theresa May in the trust ratings, although she also lacked majority support and attracted 36 per cent of support among respondents.

In a separate question, Mrs May’s trust rating following the EU referendum was 35 per cent compared to 23 per cent for Jeremy Corbyn - with the Labour leader having scored 28 per cent in 2016 - while Mr Johnson dropped from 43 per cent in 2014 to 24 per cent in 2017.

Addressing institutions, 18 per cent of respondents said they trust political parties in general to “do what is right” compared to 19 per cent for political leaders, 27 per cant for the European Union, 55 per cant for the British people and 88 per cent for family.

When asked which party would they trust to “do what is right”, voters put the Conservatives top on 28 per cent - a drop from 38 per cent in 2016.

Labour received 25 per cent (down six), the Liberal Democrats 20 per cent (down three), Ukip 19 per cent (no change), Green Party 27 per cent (down two), SNP 22 per cent (down three) and Plaid Cymru 16 per cent(no change).

The survey states 87 per cent of those respondents who voted Leave and 88 per cent who voted Remain are sure of their decision six months after June’s referendum.

Support for a second referendum sits at 22 per cent among the general population, the poll adds.

The figures emerged in the annual Trust Barometer survey conducted by public relations firm Edelman.

Ed Williams, chief executive of Edelman UK, said: “If we thought 2016 was bad, 2017 could be far worse.

“The virus that has understandably destroyed trust among those who feel let down by the system has now obviously spread.

“Even those who got richer after the financial crisis exhibit declining trust in the key pillars of society - politicians, business leaders, NGOs and the media.”

Edelman said it used more than 33,000 responses from 28 countries between October 13 and November 16 for its Trust Barometer, including about 1,150 UK residents. It also carried out research with another 1,500 UK residents between December 23 and January 7.