The people have spoken: Britain wants clean power, not dirty deals

Wind, sun and tide trounce coal and gas in landslide of public opinion. So why are the polluters still calling the shots?

The British public has delivered its verdict. And it is brutal news for the fossil fuel barons clinging to our energy system like barnacles on a sinking ship.

Fresh polling from YouGov shows ordinary Britons want clean energy, and they want it now. A whopping 72 to 73 per cent of us are backing more electricity from tidal and solar power. Two thirds want more offshore wind or hydro. Even onshore wind, the punching bag of every pro-pollution columnist going, is backed by a clear majority of 55 per cent.

And the dirty stuff? A measly 14 to 22 per cent want more fossil fuels.

Let that sink in. When asked which single power source they most want ramped up, just 6 per cent of Britons picked gas or coal. Six. Per. Cent. You could fit the entire pro-coal lobby into a Wetherspoons on a Tuesday lunchtime.

By contrast, 58 per cent of Britons say wind, solar or tidal energy is the form of power generation they support most for the country’s future needs.

This is not a fringe view. This is not the opinion of pink-haired protesters glueing themselves to the M25. This is the settled, common-sense position of the British public. Clean. Cheap. Homegrown. Ours.

So why on earth are we still being held hostage by polluters and their cronies in government?

A nation united, a Westminster asleep

The polling, marking 40 years since the Chernobyl disaster, also looked at nuclear. Britons back the use of nuclear power by 51 per cent to 29 per cent, with 37 per cent wanting more of our electricity to come from it. Fine. A reasonable debate to have.

But what’s striking is how every clean source, nuclear included, leaves fossil fuels eating dust.

And here is the kicker. The same poll found that even Reform UK voters, the supposed bogeymen of the green movement, are firmly in the clean energy camp. Asked which source they support most for Britain’s future needs, 29 per cent of Reform voters picked wind, solar or wave power. Just 15 per cent picked gas or coal.

The myth that “ordinary people” want to burn more oil and gas is exactly that. A myth. A lie peddled by columnists on the payroll of polluters and politicians who take their donations.

Working people in Leeds, retirees in Manchester, designers in London, property developers in Exeter. We disagree about plenty. But on this we are united. Give us the clean stuff. Give us the cheap stuff. Give us energy that doesn’t choke our kids or cook our planet.

Whose side are they on?

So the question must be asked. If the British people want clean energy by overwhelming margins, who exactly are our politicians serving when they hand out fresh oil and gas licences? When they water down clean power targets? When they let energy bills balloon while gas giants post record profits?

The answer is obvious. The polluters. Their shareholders. Their lobbyists. Their friends in the press.

It is not the bloke in the warehouse. It is not the nan worrying about her grandkids. It is not the council worker in Bristol or the product manager in Birmingham. It is not you. It is not us.

The British people want clean air, clean energy and a fair future. The numbers prove it beyond any doubt.

It is time our politicians caught up. Or got out of the way.

Because make no mistake. The country has decided. And we are not turning back.