Big Issue relaunched as magazine explores ‘crisis’ in trust of Government

The Big Issue is being relaunched 34 years after the magazine was first published, saying it wants to explore the “crisis” in public trust at the heart of Government.

To mark the development, the magazine and pollster Ipsos surveyed how trustworthy people view leading politicians compared to the cast of the upcoming Celebrity Traitors on TV.

Half of the 1,100 respondents said they found Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman more trustworthy than Chancellor Rachel Reeves – with just 15% saying they trust Reeves more than Winkleman, and 34% saying they did not trust either.

The public also viewed Celebrity Traitors contestant Jonathan Ross as more trustworthy than Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, according to the study.

The poll also found that Celebrity Traitors contestant Kate Garraway is viewed as more trustworthy than Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, and Alan Carr is viewed as more trustworthy than Reform’s Nigel Farage.

Paul McNamee, Big Issue UK Editor, said: “The UK’s politicians know they’re not trusted. Upon becoming Prime Minister, Keir Starmer put it like this: ‘The fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era.’

“It’s a sign of the times that, alongside this, The Traitors, TV’s biggest hit, has won hearts through a thrilling lack of trust. What can be learned from these two parallel trust trajectories?

“In another poll, with Big Issue readers earlier this year, they told us how important trust was to them.”

The Big Issue said there was a crisis in public trust at the heart of Government.