Half UK voters support renewable energy as ‘top priority’

Nearly half the British public believe investing in renewables is the top priority for energy security, according to a new poll.

Nearly half the British public believe investing in renewables is the top priority for energy security, according to a new poll.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the view is reflected by voters across the four largest parties – including UKIP.

Almost half (48 per cent) of those surveyed picked investing in renewables as their number one energy priority, far ahead of building new nuclear reactors, which came in second at a distant 15 per cent. Support for fracking trails fourth at 13 per cent, after ‘reducing consumption’. 

Fracking was even less popular in the forty most marginal Tory/Labour seats, with just 8 per cent seeing it as the most important energy priority – a worrying finding for pro-fracking incumbents.

Just 2 per cent of UKIP supporters think that reducing the number of future onshore wind-farms should the government’s main priority, while 37 per cent believe that investing in renewables is the most important energy need.

Securing our energy supplies was seen as a top five priority for the majority of voters, with 53 per cent ranking it an urgent issue.

Commenting on the poll, RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery said:

“This poll shows that the public want to tackle our energy security crisis by investing in renewables like wind, wave and tidal power and offsetting the need to import volatile and dirty fossil fuels from insecure parts of the world. Onshore wind, as the cheapest low carbon electricity source is a crucial component of that so it’s no wonder that the electorate will reject Parties that rule out its future use.”

The ComRes poll for RenewableUK follows a study last week which showed that politicians opposing wind development are a ‘turn off’ for voters.

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63 Responses to “Half UK voters support renewable energy as ‘top priority’”

  1. itdoesntaddup

    It is in the interests of citizens to replace imports with domestic production, and thus provide jobs and improve our balance of trade. Replacing expensive LNG imports will lower prices, just as prices were much lower when we were self-sufficient in gas before. The reason is that gas is expensive to transport.

  2. itdoesntaddup

    On the contrary, it is entirely evident that I have read the data and you haven’t. You make totally unviable suggestions about nuclear power, and when I suggest we ought to develop our gas resources accuse me of supporting coal. Not logical.

  3. Leon Wolfeson

    It’s entirely logic, hence your frantic protests and insults, as you insist over and over that a propaganda blog is better than scientific studies.

    It’s transparent on your part, as you try and prevent clean, safe power from being used.

  4. itdoesntaddup

    Your favourite journalist describes it as a middle class subsidy – and I agree with him.

    http://www.monbiot.com/2010/03/01/a-great-green-rip-off/

    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2012/jan/13/green-deal

  5. Leon Wolfeson

    Indeed, you’re quite right on the principles – nuclear power requires minimal imports, and is not environmentally destructive. Much better than your short-term dash to gas, where you offload the costs onto Britain, communities are (once again) left devastated and you and other foreign companies make a mint off the UK.

    You build the case against fossil fuel dependence very well, in fact, undermining (yea yea, can’t resist) yourself nicely.

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