A quarter of people surveyed believe a secret cabal is running the Isle of Man.

Results of the Isle of Man Social Attitudes Survey run by the government revealed the shocking numbers who feel there is a small, clandestine group are making all the important decisions.

More than a fifth also believe groups of scientists are manipulating, fabricating or suppressing evidence.

Since the Covid pandemic, there has been a rise in mistrust and those interested in conspiracy theories.

The survey shows 8.1% of people ‘strongly agreed’ a small secret group made all the island’s important decisions with 17.1% agreeing.

In terms of scientists manipulating evidence, 6.9% strongly agreed and 14.6% agreed.

The survey says: ‘There has been an oft-reported increase around the democratic world in the volume and influence of beliefs that democracy is undermined by the actions of secret groups that either influence or control national governments.

‘Related to this, there are also beliefs that scientists manipulate, fabricate, or suppress evidence - one of the most common manifestations of these beliefs appears in discussions of man-made climate change and also the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

‘It is the case that a sizeable minority agree or agree strongly with each statement.’

But they survey points out this figure is less than the 28% of British people who believed ‘a secret group of people control world events’ in YouGov survey in 2023.

Around 3,000 surveys were sent out to random addresses although the response rate was only around 15 per cent. But the government says a response rate of more than 10% can be sufficient.

As well as asking about political views, it also asked about happiness levels, views on issues around immigration, gender and sexuality and job satisfaction.

Public trust in the Manx government is relatively low compared though broadly comparable with levels of trust reported in the UK Government. Trust in individual MHKs was higher than in the Council of Ministers and the Legislative Council.

The lack of trust may be caused by concerns about the current state of the health service, the economy, and the way government does its job.

Almost half of those questioned had low to no trust in the Council of Ministers and well over a third had low or no trust in the Legislative Council. Almost two thirds of people expressed dissatisfaction over the job the government is doing

While people on the island are engaged in politics there is also a sense of disillusionment, failing to reflect or meet their principles, and little opportunity to really get involved.

People were also asked about trust in the emergency services and legal system.

The survey said: ‘A high percentage of people express moderate to high levels of satisfaction with the police service, fire and rescue, and 999, but with a sizeable spread of dissatisfaction being held for the police service and legal system.’

The survey also found the island population expresses only very moderate levels of happiness and satisfaction with life with some evidence those under 40 may be less happy and less satisfied.

The survey says: ‘This may be due to greater financial and housing insecurity as well as a greater sense of anxiety concerning global affairs.’

People overwhelmingly regard the Island as being safe and only low incidences of crime were reported in the survey.

The survey also found most working people are satisfied with their jobs, although the average level of satisfaction is relatively low ‘possibly as a result of a large percentage feeling their work frequently encroaches upon their personal lives’.

A majority of people are in favour of at least some inward migration, regardless of race or ethnic group while, on average, people believe that inward migration does more good than bad for the Isle of Man’s economy.

People on the Island are largely accepting of gay and lesbian members of the community - over 80% of people agree with statements that are supportive of the rights of gay and lesbian people.

The survey also found the majority of people had a strong emotional attachment to the island although this was less so among younger people.