The public’s trust in the UK’s political parties’ plans for social care is “in tatters” according to new research by retirement specialist Just Group.

On the cusp of this week’s General Election, nearly four in 10 voters (39%) said that they either trusted no political party to deliver much-needed care reforms (22%) or did not know which party they were able to trust (17%).

Over a quarter of voters (27%) in England aged 18-plus said they felt Labour were the party they trusted most to deliver care reforms – significantly higher than any other political party and three times the proportion of those who said the Conservatives (9%).

When it comes to which parties the electorate believe are taking the issue of social care most seriously in their campaign messages and manifesto pledges, the efforts of the Liberal Democrats to put the issue of social care at the heart of their campaign appears to be cutting through.

The proportion of voters who think Labour and the Liberal Democrats are taking social care seriously was almost neck-and-neck at 35% and 34% respectively.

However, the Liberal Democrats were the only party where, by a small margin, a higher proportion of voters said they were taking the
issue more seriously (34%) than less seriously (33%).

Just 19% and 18% of voters believe that the Conservatives and Reform UK, respectively, were taking social care seriously based on their manifesto and campaigns.

Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “Our research shows that trust between voters and political parties lies in tatters when it comes to social care reform.

“Decades of broken promises, can-kicking and putting the problem in the ‘too difficult’ box has led to a situation where almost four in 10 of the electorate either do not trust any political party to deliver on much-needed reforms or don’t know who to trust.

“As we near the end of the General Election campaign, we look ahead to a new government. There will be many issues in its in-tray but few as long-neglected as effective social care reform. Will this government grasp the nettle to deliver a clear plan that allows people to plan for the future with
confidence?”