Understanding Participation : A Quantitative Study of the Relationship Between Political Trust and Different Forms of Political Participation in the United Kingdom

Trust in elected representatives and the political institutions within which they operate is often emphasised as a prerequisite for citizens’ political participation. While research has indeed shown a positive correlation between political trust and participation, it has contrarily also been suggested that low levels of trust might function as a driving force for participation. With empirical evidence remaining equivocal, the relationship between political trust and political participation is yet to be fully comprehended. By focusing on one case, using the latest available European Social Survey data, and examining trust and participation rates over time, this study aims at yielding further insight into this matter. The results from the study show that the relationship between political trust and political participation is indeed ambiguous. As anticipated, political trust correlates positively with voting and negatively with so-called non-institutionalised political participation. However, political trust also correlates negatively with so-called institutionalised participation, contrary to expectation and perhaps quite notable. The results additionally suggest that the categorisation of different participation types might benefit from a revision. Moreover, also perchance remarkable, the results show that levels of political trust and political participation have been stable over time. No decline can be noted for either trust or participation, despitere occurring claims of such developments. Based on the results of this study, low levels of political trust have neither become more widespread nor had a negative impact on political participation