48% of Britons believe fracking should begin again, finds survey
October 2023 - Oil and Gas
48% of Britons believe fracking should begin again: The most recent tracker looking at opinions around extracting shale gas in Britain has found that 48% are in favour, with 28% saying that fracking should not receive a green light.
The biannual tracker polls around 1800 people per wave, with the latest responses collected in June 2023.
Male respondents were quite divided on whether the UK should begin fracking activities again, with 42% saying they should not, versus 38% saying they should. On the other hand, more than half the women polled said that Britain should not start extracting shale gas (56%) compared with just 15% in favour, although the proportion of 'don't know' responses was greater amongst women (29%).
People aged 65 and over are the group most likely to say that fracking should start again in the UK, with 39% holding this view in the latest survey. This compares to 25% of 50-64-year olds, 24% of 25-49-year-olds and 26% of 18-24-year-olds.
The group most likely to be against fracking were 50-64 year-olds, with 54% saying it should not be permitted compared to 51% of 18-24 year-olds, 46% of 25-49-year-olds and 45% of those aged 65+.
Political leanings
The greatest disparity revealed in the survey was seen when looking at political leanings, with 66% of Labour voters not in favour of fracking compared with 35% of Conservative voters and 62% of Liberal Democrats. Just 16% of Labour voters said they were in favour, compared to 44% of Conservative voting respondents, and 27% of Lib Dems.
Regional views
The proportion of people in London who said the government should give the green light on fracking again was greater than in any other region, with 39% saying it should be permitted, compared to 29% of people in the North.
People in Wales were most opposed to fracking found the research, with almost two-thirds (65%) saying that Britain should not start extracting shale gas. This compares to 53% in the rest of the South, 50% in Scotland, 48% in the North and 38% in the Midlands
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