Hacked Off: Opinion poll, damning verdict on IPSO after its first year

Hacked Off has published the results of a YouGov opinion poll which showed that  two thirds of the general public (66%) say they have little or no confidence in IPSO, the regulator set up by the press in defiance of the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry, endorsed by all parties in parliament.

After a year of operation, there is virtually no change in those saying they have little or no confidence in the press being able to regulate itself (66% today versus 67% a year ago). Those who say they have confidence in IPSO are outnumbered four to one by those who don’t (66% as against 17%)

IPSO was established by the big newspaper publishers a year ago – in defiance of the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry – amidst great press acclaim that it was going to be much tougher and more effective than the discredited Press Complaints Commission. After a year of operation, it has had no impact whatsoever on public confidence, which remains as skeptical today as it was under the previous regime.

Public Choose Leveson over IPSO by three to one

Asked which model of press regulation they would prefer:

• Of those who expressed a preference, 78% said they would choose Leveson over IPSO.
• Fewer than one in six (14%) would prefer IPSO to a Leveson-compliant regulator.
• Leveson is preferred by the public by a margin of more than 3:1 (50% to 14%).

Only 14% support IPSO, while 50% support implementing the Leveson recommendations and 35% said they “don’t know”.

Dr Evan Harris, Joint Executive Director of the Hacked Off Campaign commented,

“These results are extraordinary: after a year of IPSO’s operation and despite the newspapers’ constant promotion of its benefits through their own megaphones, public support is at a paltry 14%.  No other regulator could survive such a pathetic level of public support. Moreover, newspapers are demonstrating contempt for the views of their own readers when they persist with IPSO in the face of such clear opposition.”

This is all after IPSO Chairperson Sir Alan Moses has stated time and again that IPSO will ultimately be accountable to the public:

• September 8th 2014, IPSO Press Release:  “IPSO aims to help rebuild public trust in the press through independent, fair and transparent regulation.”
• September 8th 2014, ITN interview: “We are responsible to the public. The public need a voice, the public need protection from those who abuse them. Where they feel they are victims they need somebody to stand up for them. And the Press need us as well. The Press need us to re-establish their authority. Authority will only come with trust and there will only be trust if there is a truly independent regulator regulating” 

The results of previous polls on this issue are set out in the Table below

Full details of previous polls can be found at the following links:

• Media Standards Trust/YouGov, 31^st January – 1^st February 2013
• Media Standards Trust/YouGov 1^st – 2^nd May 2013
• Media Standards Trust/YouGov 17^th – 18^th July 2013
• Media Standard Trust/YouGov 9th – 10th October 2013
• Media Standards Trust/YouGov 2nd – 4th June 2014
• Hacked Off/YouGov 11th – 12th April 2015