Election survey: what switching voters thought on climate as they went to the polls
Net zero policies supported by voters switching from Conservatives to Labour or the Liberal Democrats at the polls.
By Alasdair Johnstone
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New polling from Opinium for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) [1] has found that those switching their votes away from the Conservatives to Labour or the Liberal Democrats are strong supporters of the net zero climate target with nearly three quarters (73%) supporting it. This compares to nearly two thirds (61%) of people overall who support the target.
In addition, when asked about the best way to ensure the UK’s long term energy security, around two-thirds (64%) of the public saw the best way was to reduce reliance on oil and gas and expand use of renewable energy. Only 18% thought the best way was to increase the UK’s domestic supply of oil and gas. The view that renewables were a better route for energy security was even stronger among those who switched from Conservative to either Labour or the Liberal Democrats at three-quarters (76%).
For Reform voters, the poll found hardly any (4%) were voting Reform because of its climate policy (which is to scrap the net zero target [2]). Even among Reform voters, 42% said they supported measures by the government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK to reduce the risks of climate change, compared to 43% who opposed such measures, essentially a 50/50 split.
Commenting on the poll findings, Alasdair Johnstone from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said:
“Energy security was a key issue during this election, with the parties offering differing visions on whether renewables or oil and gas would best ensure the UK’s energy independence. The public clearly come down on the side of renewables.
“The calculation behind Rishi Sunak’s changed rhetoric on net zero has not yielded electoral success, with Conservative to Labour or Lib Dem switchers being some of the most supportive of the net zero climate target.
“Successive Conservative governments had made bold moves on climate change, setting the net zero target into law, hosting the COP26 climate summit, backing offshore wind, conceiving the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate and the heat pump mandate. Indeed, on a number of policies helping people to adopt cleaner technologies in their lives, the Conservatives and Labour set out similar solutions. But Labour was bolder in its rhetoric and its timelines for accelerating renewables and shifting away from oil and gas.”
Similar to the support for the net zero target, over two thirds (66%) of all voters said that they would support measures by the Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK to reduce the risk of climate change compared to 16% opposition.