Collective action hinders the increase in post-election trust among election losers: Longitudinal evidence from the 2024 UK election

Political trust is a key component of civic investment in democratic societies. However, the reasons for its fluctuations within the democratic process remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated longitudinal associations between electoral outcome, political collective action, and political trust. We hypothesized that collective action would moderate the impact of election results, such that trust would increase among engaged individuals whose preferred party won, but decrease among those whose preferred party lost. Using longitudinal data collected before and after the 2024 UK General Election (N = 543), we found a general increase in political trust following the election. This increase was weaker, although still significant, among participants who supported losing parties. Furthermore, we observed an interaction between collective action and local electoral outcome: Political trust increased for all participants except those who had greatly invested in collective action and whose local candidate had not been elected as Member of Parliament. These findings confirm that electoral processes foster political trust, but also suggest that unsuccessful collective action may hinder the typical increase in political trust following an election. They highlight the importance of both institutionalized and non-institutionalized political engagement in shaping trust, with implications for understanding how democratic participation can strengthen—or undermine—support for the political system.