Trust and responsibility; in regulatory agencies or parliament

Trust thought for today - trust in regulatory agencies vs politicians?

Both prospective PM's are taking on the Bank of England and city regulators who they say are holding back post-Brexit reforms, here from the FT. Sunak first proposed it to shift accountability to parliament away from 'faceless regulators' and Truss now proposes loosening regulation as part of her pitch. "As prime minister the British people can trust me to unleash investment and boost economic growth right across the country."

BoE Governor begs to differ “The independence of the regulators is important because much of our international standing depends on this.”

I have no grasp of the detail of the Financial Services Bill, but a few points pop out from my trust work to the proposed implementation to this 'call out' provision which was omitted from the initial bill:

* Regulators are among the most trusted civic institutions and their independence of government and business is in part what earns them this trust.

* But regulators are indeed seen as faceless, though some are better than others, with people not particularly knowing many individual regulators but mainly trusting the concept. The Food Standards Agency and Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, our most trusted regulators, have understood that trust is important and take significant steps to show what they do, be accountable, honest and communicate well.

* Regulators do need to consider public trust and their purpose, integrity and independence are central to that, though I am unsure how the regulators targeted here fare in this regard.

* I have seen lots of press about 'bonfires of red tape' and speculation about how that will help business, but almost nothing in any depth about its impact positive or negative on the public and repercussions for individuals at a time when financial impropriety and scams may be an issue for many. Regulators are trust sources of information, perhaps more from them about public interest aspects of their work would be useful in this debate.

* British government ministers are currently among the least trusted in the world by their citizens who don't believe high flown statements like this. Particularly statements in a bizarre contest like this where a new PM will be chosen by so few individuals.

* Recent breeches of integrity by this government has reduced our reputation and international standing. To erode it further could indeed, as Bailey suggests, cause further damage at a time when we are trying to rebuild our reputation and trust in institutions.