Shortage of trust in British economy

Wednesday, 14 January 2009 12:00 AM

By Laura Miller

People in Britain no longer trust financial institutions, the markets or the government's ability to manage the economy, according to a new poll published today.

Britain came bottom for economic confidence in the poll of 17 countries, including the major G8 economies and developing countries like China and India.

Out of the 14,555 people questioned by WIN, an international network of pollsters that includes the UK's ICM, British respondents were the least optimistic about the financial future. They had less confidence in the UK banking system than Icelanders whose system has totally collapsed.

In developing countries such as India and China around 30 per cent of people asked expect the economic situation in their countries to pick up in 2009. By comparison more than three-quarters of British citizens predict the crisis will deepen and last well into the coming months.

Governments of other countries also enjoy a firmer vote of confidence than in the UK, despite Gordon Brown's flurry of initiatives to halt the recession in the shape of bank interventions and fiscal stimulus.

Asked to rate their trust in the government's management of the financial situation, British people award the government 4.5 out of ten, only just topping Iceland at 4.4. Americans have more faith in their government giving 6.3 out of ten overall, although this could be linked to the impending leadership change. The worldwide average was 5.2.

One area Britons did feel relatively optimistic about was personal finance. Britain comes tenth out of 17 countries on personal finance, with most people here expecting their incomes will either decrease (25 per cent) or stay the same (48 per cent) over the next 12 months.

Tags:
• economy
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• economy and finance
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• world economy