Drop in Public Support for Shale Gas in UK

Environmental issues are increasingly concerning UK public, which ‘remains skeptical about community payments, ‘according to the University of Nottingham poll about public attitudes. 

‘The May 2014 survey confirms that the turn against fracking for shale gas in the UK has deepened. The prospect of the contamination of drinking water has been a key issue highlighted by protestors, and the negative rating for shale gas on water contamination, which increased after the Balcombe protests, has been maintained,’ reads the report Public Perception of Shale Gas Extraction in the UK.

In the report released on Monday, researchers said that the public support for shale gas in the UK has fallen below 50% for the first time. The University of Nottingham survey started in March 2012.

Respondents don’t see shale gas as a clean form of energy and, since Balcombe protest, the negative rating for shale gas on water contamination has been maintained. 

‘These trends suggests that the ‘turn againstfracking’ seen after the August 2013 protests at Balcombe is not a ‘blip’ and appears to represent anincreasing sense of unease with the environmental implications of fracking amongst the UK public.’ 

Perception of shale gas in relation to risks of water contamination remained stable. It comes as no surprise that a decreasing number of respondents associate shale gas with clean energy in the UK. Since Balcombe protests, the positive trend in terms of rating for shale reversed.

‘But notwithstanding recent shifts, the proportion of respondents who considershale gas to be cheap fuel is approximately 10 percentage points higher than at our first survey,’ reads the report signed by Sarah O’Hara, Mathew Humphrey, Jessica Andersson, Rusi Jaspal, Brigitte Nerlich and Wil Knight.

At the same time, voters seem increasingly polarized, with Conservative voters increasingly in favour. On the other hand public support from Labour voters decreased by 10% in the last 26 months.