But it goes further than that. The so-called "spin committee" - an independent review set up by Downing Street last year - identified a three-way breakdown of trust between politicians, the media and the public.

And maybe further still...

Scholars such as sociology professor Richard Sennett and Robert Putnam, author of the iconic Bowling Alone, believe the culture of individualism fostered in the 1980s has led people away from the informal social networks - such as neighbours talking to each other - that helped build trust between individuals.