Trust in government in Wales lower than England reveals report

Trust in the UK Government is lower in Wales than England while trust in the Welsh Government has declined over the last two years, according to a new report.

Carnegie’s Life in the UK Index outlines that, in common with the UK as a whole, the wellbeing of the people of Wales did not improve between 2023 and 2025.

But the research highlights that while democratic wellbeing, including trust in politics and democracy, improved slightly on a UK-wide basis in the last year, the same trend is not evident in Wales.

The Index, based on a 26-question survey of 7106 people including 686 people in Wales, looks at the social, economic, environmental and democratic aspects of life in the UK.

The research paints a mixed picture of life in Wales. A greater proportion of people feel safe in their neighbour after dark in Wales than across the UK as a whole, but a larger share of people find public transport difficult to access.

A smaller percentage of people in Wales report problems with air quality than people in England but a higher percentage of people in Wales are dissatisfied with local job opportunities compared to the UK average.

Carnegie UK says that their evidence shows that too many people in Wales still face lives that are far too difficult, pointing to lower wellbeing scores among disabled people, people living in deprived areas and people on low incomes.

Sarah Davidson, chief executive of Carnegie UK, said: “Our new report looking at wellbeing in Wales has shown no improvement since we started our data series in 2023.

“This is concerning not just because the Welsh Government has made improving wellbeing a priority over the last decade, but because this means that many people’s lives in Wales are unacceptably difficult.

“While the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 was a piece of world-leading legislation, its impact has not yet been felt by the people of Wales. Decision-makers in Wales need to examine what’s holding back progress when the building blocks for success seem to be in place.”

Carnegie’s survey work, conducted in May 2025, reveals that 53% of people in Wales have low trust in the UK Government, higher than the UK average of 45%. By comparison, 43% of people in Wales have low trust in the Welsh Government, seven percentage points higher than in 2023.

Voice

Sarah Davidson said: “The relative lack of trust in politics and democracy in Wales revealed in our research could be due to elections over the last year leading to more positive scores in England.

“However, decision-makers and institutions in Wales should also examine whether there’s more that should be done to give people a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.”

In 2025 6% of people in Wales agreed that they could influence decisions affecting the UK, which although still very low, is four percentage points higher than in 2023. In addition, 8% agreed that they can influence decisions affecting Wales.

Мaria Drave, co-director at the Institute of Welsh Affairs, said: “Carnegie’s index is a useful tool providing an insight into the collective wellbeing of the nations across the UK.

“It is disappointing to see that Wales has stagnated on most of the scores. Despite our world-leading future generations legislation, the report highlights structural issues with how our economy is set up.

“We, therefore, continue to call for the next Welsh Government to reconsider our economic strategy and move towards a wellbeing economic model, which foregrounds the wellbeing of people, places and planet.

“The report also flags up another worrying trend: Wales’ communities feel disengaged and disempowered to influence decision-makers, both in Cardiff and Westminster. This does not come as a surprise – we already know that democracy in Wales is not in good health.

“We need new and better ways to increase and deepen citizens’ engagement in our democratic processes. By doing democracy differently, we can help to tackle some of the challenges facing our system.”

Data

The Life in the UK Index was devised to track the wellbeing of the UK’s people over time. The 2025 index is based upon a 26-question online survey of a representative UK sample of 7,106 adults, including 686 in Wales, aged 16+.

The Index consists of an overall collective wellbeing score, calculated from a score for each of four themes: social, environmental, economic and democratic wellbeing. The score for each is based on several different survey questions relevant to that wellbeing theme.

The overall collective wellbeing index score for Wales in 2025 was 62 out of a possible 100, the same as the equivalent figure in 2024 and 2023 and matching the UK average. Disabled people in Wales have a wellbeing score of 55; people living in the most deprived areas have a wellbeing score of 54; and people with a household income of below £26,000 have a wellbeing score of 56.

This data allows governments across the UK to identify areas of our lives that require policy intervention. A copy of the Wales report is available here.

The Welsh Government publishes their own Wellbeing in Wales data series, updated in October 2025.