The writer is a science commentator
There is something for everyone in a new report on public trust in science. Optimists will rejoice that 84 per cent of Britons say they still trust in science to some degree, with only two per cent declaring no faith at all. Pessimists may dwell instead on the plunge in numbers trusting it “a lot”, down from 63 per cent in 2020 to 34 per cent today.
But there’s another pattern that stands out in these disruptive times: science is increasingly seen as a fallible institution run by a liberal elite in its own interests. Three in ten Britons, the poll reveals, think science is too closely aligned to political causes, with nearly a third of Reform UK voters suspecting a left-wing bias.