As Aidan points out, trust between the parties is affected by political divisions within UK Government. But where do these divisions come from? Perhaps partly from dysfunctional relationships between politicians and civil servants. But these divisions inside Government undoubtedly reflect divisions in the wider sociopolitical system.



Perhaps we expect Government to be above these petty sociopolitical divisions, to be the primary source of Trust across a wide range of public systems and services. This is known as Authority Trust. Aidan and John's book Trust and Mistrust indicates some of the problems with this mode of trust.



What are the alternatives to Authority Trust for the UK Railway System, and how might these work in practice?