Back in 2014, David Cameron told the House of Commons Liaison Committee that people are “basically fed up” with wind farms. In 2015, his government then went on to not only cut subsidies for onshore wind, but also make it harder and harder to get planning permission. But politicians are wrong to think wind power is unpopular. Again and again, polls show the UK public are pretty supportive of onshore wind. Our ComRes poll out today, for example, shows 73% of the British public back onshore wind power. Politicians can only dream of such approval ratings. Significantly, the poll also found two thirds of people living in rural areas say they support onshore wind farms (65%). Although support for onshore wind was lower here than in urban areas (75%), it is still very high. The difference is similar to one found if you split by age – 77% of 18-24s support onshore wind compared to 66% of over 65s. We also found support – at 80% – especially high in Scotland, the part of the country with by far the most onshore wind per capita. This reflects older, 2003 research by Mori Scotland which talked to people who actually live near large wind sites and feel it’s had a positive impact on their area.
Guardian 20th Oct 2016 read more »
Public support for wind power is much higher than is widely believed, according to new polling from ComRes. The poll found 73 per cent of the British public back onshore wind farms, with the figure rising to 80 per cent in Scotland. Meanwhile ComRes also found that, across the UK, just 34 per cent backed fracking. The polling, which was done on behalf of climate change charity 10:10, found that just 17 per cent of respondents opposed onshore wind. Support was even high among those close to windfarms, with 65 per cent of those in rural areas expressing support. It found that although nearly three-quarters support onshore wind, the people tend to underestimate levels of public support, with only 11 per cent saying they believe the technology has support from 71 per cent or more of the population. Meanwhile although 83 per cent say they support solar farms, just 21 per cent said they believe 71 per cent or more people in the UK back it.
Holyrood 20th Oct 2016 read more »
Edie 20th Oct 2016 read more »