New MPs ‘greener’, but wrong on EVs and home heating

Polling conducted by YouGov of 120 UK MPs, between 18th July - 12th August 2024 showed that support for the target was high before the election with previous MP polling from April just before this year’s general election, finding 76% of the previous Parliament’s MPs supported the target.

But when asked about technologies for reaching net zero, many MPs are misinformed. In the latest polling, around a third (31%) of Labour MPs, and just under a third (27%) of all MPs, thought “hydrogen can play a significant role in heating homes in the future”, with just 19% of Labour MPs believing that “hydrogen can play only a niche role in heating homes in the future”. Overall, 22% of MPs said hydrogen could only play a niche role in the future of home heating and only 9% thought it would have no role.

This contrasts sharply with what many experts have concluded which is that hydrogen is not the solution to decarbonising our homes.

On electric cars, around two fifths (42%) of MPs thought the total ownership costs for an EV (e.g. upfront cost, fuel, servicing, insurance and tax) are higher than that of a petrol car. Actually, analysis has shown that petrol car drivers are paying a £700 ‘petrol premium’ over driving an EV because of high fuelling costs compared to charging an EV.

Around two fifths (39%) thought the UK's grid will not be able to cope with demand created by the shift to EVs. The National Grid has explicitly labelled this a ‘myth’ and is clear that the power system will be able to cope with millions more EVs in the UK.

Whilst 16% of MPs thought EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, that proportion is much higher among Conservative MPs, where 44% believed this to be the case compared to 7% of Labour. Evidence from EV Fire Safe indicates that EVs are more than 80 times less likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel cars.

Again, whilst just 10% of MPs believed the myth that EVs pose a threat to the structural integrity of the UK's car parks, that view is slightly higher among Conservative MPs at 25% compared to 8% Labour. In reality, there have been no documented cases of bridge collapse due to the weight of an EV and many internal combustion engine SUVs outweigh electric cars and use bridges and car parks without issue.

Before the election just under three quarters (70%) of Conservative MPs supported the net zero target, today it is more than four fifths (81%). Prior to the election 45% saw artificial intelligence as the best opportunity for growth and slightly less (43%) saw renewable energy and clean technology as the best growth opportunity. Following the election, 78% of MPs view renewable energy and clean technology as the best opportunity for growth. Previous polling has found the public to place this sector as most likely to deliver economic growth to the UK. 

When it came to renewables, again favourability among MPs increased from the last Parliament. The majority (79%) of MPs have a favourable view of onshore wind compared to 56% before the election. When asked, 60% of MPs in this Parliament thought the people that voted for them had a favourable view of onshore wind compared to 35% in the last Parliament.

Public polling conducted by YouGov of a representative sample of 2389 adults in Great Britain, between 16th-23rd July 2024 and published by Climate Barometer, showed that 66% of the public have a favourable view of onshore wind, which suggests the new crop of MPs are more aligned with voters of this issue.