Most Brits want to maximise fossil fuels
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article was headlined 'Most Brits now BACK fracking'. In fact, the poll showed Britons wanted to maximise fossil fuels rather than back fracking specifically. The headline has now been corrected and we are happy to clarify this.
With the nation facing soaring energy bills and a cost of living crisis, 52 percent of people say they support “maximising” fossil fuels until the country can be powered from renewable sources. The research by Redfield & Wilton Strategies comes as business leaders and economists have urged the Government to harness underground natural gas by giving the green light to fracking. They warn that inflation is rising and expect the war in Ukraine to push prices even higher.
The Government last week unveiled an energy strategy which sets out ambitions for as many as eight new nuclear reactors and more offshore wind farms but pressure is growing for immediate action to bring down bills.
An open letter - which you can read in full below this article - signed by figures including Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin, consumer goods entrepreneur John Mills, former director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce John Longworth, and economist Roger Bootle states: “The United Kingdom has enough natural gas to take back control of our energy policy at least until we have developed nuclear energy and beyond. If we were to release just 10 percent of British natural shale gas the UK would be self-sufficient in energy for the next 30 years.
“This would ease the burden on families and businesses as the British economy transitions to net-zero. We are therefore calling on the government to lift the moratorium on shale gas exploration in the UK.”
Fracking was halted in the UK in 2019 but the Government has commissioned a new report into this controversial method of obtaining gas through “hydraulic fracturing”.
Mr Longworth, who now chairs the Independent Business Network, hopes that if fracking gets a green light right away “we will begin to see the pressure on prices ease by next winter and become progressively better each year after that”.
He said: “Immediately, the Government should be doing everything possible to incentivise and secure for Britain energy at least cost; that means pumping more reserves of gas and oil from the North Sea and right now starting to frack gas under our feet and using emergency measures to drive through the planning system the expansion of the extraction of British natural shale gas.”
The push for highly controversial action comes as concern mounts about the impact of higher bills on household finances. A Liberal Democrat analysis suggest families will face an “extra £1,400 hit to their utility bills over the next decade” – with more than half the sum coming from the cost of the new nuclear power plants.
There is deep unease in Tory circles about how living costs may affect the party’s chances at the next election.
A backbencher described the country’s energy policy as “50 years of failure,” saying: “We’ve closed all our pits. We’ve refused to frack.
“We’re reluctant to get gas and oil out of the North Sea and then we’re scratching our heads wondering why are our gas bills are so expensive...
“Forget everything that’s happened over the last two and a half years. The one thing that will define us as a party and as a government is the cost of living, pounds in pockets. People, come the next election, if they feel worse off than they did in 2019, then they will look to punish us. It’s as simple as that.”
The hardships facing families may be fuelling pessimism about the life chances of younger generations.
The Redfield & Wilson research asked people in Great Britain if the “children of today live in a better United Kingdom with a more optimistic future than the one their parents grew up in”. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) said No.
Craig Mackinlay, the South Thanet Conservative MP, who set up the Net Zero Scrutiny Group to examine the Government’s plans to slash carbon emissions, pressed for immediate action to bring down bills.
The letter
"The rise in energy bills is severely impacting British households and British businesses. Inflation is rising and the Russian invasion of Ukraine will push energy prices even higher. The government has outlined its plans to eliminate Russian supplies of oil to the UK by the end of 2022. This is the right thing to do but it will mean the UK will have to look to international markets and pay for our energy at world prices.
Despite the huge challenges and costs facing the British economy the government is still determined to pursue with absolute rigour the most expensive route to achieving the target of net-zero by 2050. When circumstances change, sensible governments adapt their policies to reflect new challenges. Everybody acknowledges that the move to net zero is going to be expensive. The government’s approach to net-zero was already creating enormous cost to consumers from less economic sources of energy and to taxpayers through green subsidies. At a time when prices are rising fast, a government which puts the wealth of the nation and peoples living standards first would examine all areas of policy, including achieving net-zero by 2050 to ascertain how the target of net-zero might be met and by when.
If we are to level up all regions of the United Kingdom we will need to ensure that families can light and heat their homes and businesses remain viable. If we are to increase productivity we are going to need to ensure that manufacturing and industry has a reliable and affordable source of energy. If we are to protect the country from the malign influence of despotic regimes we need to become energy self-sufficient. The way to achieve these objectives is through using the natural resources we have here under our feet, creating tens of thousands of new jobs.
The United Kingdom has enough natural gas to take back control of our energy policy at least until we have developed nuclear energy and beyond. If we were to release just 10% of British natural shale gas the UK would be self-sufficient in energy for the next thirty years. This would ease the burden on families and businesses as the British economy transitions to net-zero. We are therefore calling on the government to lift the moratorium on shale gas exploration in the UK."
John Longworth
Chairman, Independent Business Network
Tim Martin
Chairman, Weatherspoons
John Mills
Chairman, JML
Lance Forman
Owner, H.Forman & Son
Roy Sandler
Chief Executive, Sandler Ltd.
Brendan Chilton
Chief Executive, Independent Business Network
Julian Jessop
Independent Economist
Carol Wells
Businesswoman
Louise Oliver
President of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs
Suzanne Evans
Suzanne Evans Communications
Andrew Fox
Businessman
John Elliot
Founder and Chairman, EBAC Ltd
Chrstopher Nieper
David Nieper Ltd
Patrick Minford
Professor of Applied Economics
Stephen Willis
Piercefield Oliver
Graham Stringer
Member of Parliament for Blackley and Broughton
Daniel Hodson
City
Roger Bootle
Economic Consultant
Jon Moynihan
Businessman
Ian Herbet
Founder and Vice-Chairman, Vistair Systems Ltd
Rupert Lowe
Businessman
John Fifield
Businessman
Simon Boyd
Reid Steel Ltd
Malcolm Penny
Businessman
Ian Brown
Managing Director, Industrial Maintenance Services Ltd
Tom Bohills
Founder, Chronos Law
Nick McKay
Managing Investor
Grange Capital Investments Ltd
Chris Kelly
Keltruck Ltd