If the YouGov polling is right the Tories are flying in the face of public opinion and their own voters on wind farms
Did CON check polling before opposing wind farms. By 55%- 21% voters want more & even CON ones are 49-28% in favour twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st…
— Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) October 31, 2012
Several papers, including the Mail, are making their big story this morning comments by the energy minister, John Hays on wind-farms.. The Telegraph reports:-
- “,,,Hayes said that we can “no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities†and added that it “seems extraordinary†they have allowed to spread so much throughout the country.
The energy minister said he had ordered a new analysis of the case for onshore wind power which would form the basis of future government policy, rather than “a bourgeois Left article of faith based on some academic perspectiveâ€.
Only nine days ago YouGov published its latest polling on attitudes to energy policy including wind farms and the numbers seem strongly in favour of support.
The precise question was “Thinking about the country’s future energy provision, do you think the government should be looking to use more or less of the following?…Wind farms”
Overall by 55%-21% voters said they approved and want more electricity generated in this way. What’s more pertinent is that Tory opposition doesn’t seem to have filtered through to party supporters. Those saying that they’ll vote Tory at the next election were in favour of more by 49%-28%.
Even though this has been an issue for some time there doesn’t seem to have been much movement against wind-farms in the past year. In November 2011 the figures were 56% for more and 19% against.
Mike Smithson
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