Public support for Hinkley at new low

Publication date: 13th September 2016

In advance of the Hinkley decisionto be made later this month, Greenpeace have released a new poll showing public support for Hinkley nuclear power station is at an all time low.

Just a quarter (25%) of the 2000 people surveyed by Populus say they support Hinkley, whilst nearly half (44%) oppose it.

The last major poll on public support for the project was commissioned in April this year by New Nuclear Watch Europe, a pro-nuclear group. Support was at 33% according to a YouGov poll, down from 57% in 2013.

Greenpeace also commissioned a poll in October 2015 just before the deal was signed with the Chinese President that showed public support at 29%.

In a question on what they think the energy priorities should be nearly two thirds (62%) think that the government should prioritise an energy system based around renewable energy. 16% believed that the government should prioritise nuclear and 5% want the government to prioritise gas fired power stations.

These results are supported by over 200,000 people, who have signed a Greenpeace petition calling on Theresa May to drop the eye wateringly expensive Hinkley and invest in renewable power instead which will be handed in to the Treasury this morning.

 John Sauven, Greenpeace Executive Director said:

“Support for Hinkley is at rock bottom. The public knows what the government has yet to learn – investment in renewables should be prioritised over nuclear power. The government shouldn’t risk taxpayers money on old fashioned, flawed technology. It should be investing in the future.

“Advances in renewable energy like offshore wind, alongside battery storage, energy efficiency innovations and wires that carry electricity under the sea connecting us to other countries are the future for keeping the lights on. It is time the government embraced these developments, rather than lock us into a contract that will leave future generations with more hazardous nuclear waste, higher bills and dependent on French and Chinese state owned companies for our power.”