Trust in scientists: the role of values and moral and political identities in the UK
Full study
Segmentation summary
For versions of both reports that include alt-text on all charts, visit the links at the end of this page.
Trust in scientists in the UK is strong overall, with 63% indicating they have high trust in scientists in general – but this study finds such trust is closely shaped by people’s values, identity and politics, showing some of the same patterns of division over science that have emerged in the US.
Carried out by the Policy Institute at King's College London and Sense about Science, and funded by Wellcome, the research shows trust rests less on whether scientists are seen as expert, and more on whether people feel scientists are “on the side of people like them.
This view tracks political support closely: only 32% of Reform UK supporters feel scientists are on their side, versus 71% of Green supporters – a 39-point gap.
This kind of political divide risks influencing how people see science – something that’s occurred in the US in recent years – and the study finds Reform supporters are far less trusting of, and more cynical about, scientists in general and climate scientists in particular, who emerge as the most politically polarising of all the scientists studied.
But other drivers of trust still matter, including knowing a scientist personally, which is linked to greater trust in scientists regardless of occupational or educational levels.
And while outright distrust remains a minority position, the research reveals the key actions that could help increase levels of trust in the future.
The study is based on a nationally representative survey of 4,262 UK adults conducted with YouGov. This was combined with regression modelling to identify the factors most associated with trust, and a major new segmentation analysis to break the public into groups based on the varying types of trust they have in scientists. Informed by distinct attitudes towards, and personal connections to, scientists, the groups range from “Science Advocates” through to “Science Critics”.
Reports with alt-text on charts
Principal Investigators
Director
Research Fellow