Imagine a world without trust. Undoubtedly, it would be a bleak place to live. We build relationships on trust; our family, friends and colleagues (hopefully) are people we trust on a base level. Society berates those cold, hard individuals who find it difficult to trust or have so-called ‘trust issues’. But if you extricate the concept of trust from the cushy environs of our personal lives the word takes on a meaning with significantly more gravitas.

 

Who do we trust with our money, our human rights, our health?  The combination of trust and power in the wrong hands is a powerful elixir, as we are so painfully aware. The consequence of power concentrated in the hands of the privileged few is evidenced by the banking scandals of recent years, the light shed on unethical media practises through Leveson and the persistent promises that are made and broken by our politicians.

 

Perhaps in the commercial and capitalist realms, then, we would be wise to distrust. According to Tim Parker, the CEO of The National Trust, “this is an age where people are not cynical but guarded.” Our reluctance to freely offer up our trust and unblinkingly accept what we are told by the media, multinationals and the government is something Parker openly encourages. We no longer accept what we are told, which he claims, “is a great aspect of British culture.”

 

Essentially, trust is based in reputation. Perhaps this is why The National Trust came ranked second in a survey asking the populace which institution they were most proud to associate with British nationhood; a list topped by Shakespeare, with the Royal family and Parliament bringing up the rear. Parker spoke about the pivotal role longevity plays in gaining trust: “People know that the mission of The National Trust is forever, to look after everything we have.”

 

With membership of The National Trust numbering 3.7 million – and comparatively, membership of the Labour party scraping around the 200,000 mark – it is clear that trust in any organisation relies on active participation. We need to feel involved in an institution to trust its innate mechanisms.

 

This speaks to a greater issue that is pertinent to all sources of power in the UK: Decentralisation. Parker said, “I have spent my career decentralising. Philosophically, I am uncomfortable with centrally driven organisations.” This is a message that rang true with many from the floor, driving discussions regarding the NHS, our country’s media disseminators and the police force. The overriding message from Parker was one of affirmative tensions: We must accept our institutions, like the BBC, the NHS and the free market for their triumphs, while retaining a healthy curiosity and a refusal to mindlessly consume everything we are told. 

 

 

Photo: Robert Smith
Text: Francesca Donovan