People in the UK have more trust in regular men and women in the street than lawyers, the new results of an established survey finds.
According to the
2016 Veracity Index, when people were asked whether they would generally trust different types of people to tell the truth or not, 52% said they would trust lawyers as compared to 65% who would trust ordinary men and women in the street.
Those who reach the bench, however, performed overwhelmingly better than their counterparts as 81% of respondents said they trust judges to tell the truth.
The study, conducted this year by market research firm Ipsos MORI in cooperation with Mumsnet, polled 1,019 British adults aged 15 and older from 14 October to 1 November. The pollsters have been releasing the Veracity Index since 1983.
Despite being included in the list of types of people for the first time this year, nurses topped the list with 93% of respondents indicating trust. Next were doctors (91%), teachers (88%), judges (81%) and scientists (80%).
Next were the police (71%), priests/clergy (69%), hairdressers (68%), TV newsreaders (67%) and ordinary men and women in the street (65%).
The study is framed within the context of the Brexit vote which resulted in the UK resolving to leave the European Union.
The five least trusted types of people were politicians generally (15%), Government Ministers (20%), journalists (24%), estate agents (30%) and business leaders (33%).
Mid-pack and lower were civil servants (56%), lawyers (52%), pollsters (49%), NHS managers (48%), economists (48%), charity chief executives (46%), trade union officials (43%), local councillors (43%) and bankers (37%).
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