Category: Polling
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4 things we learned from our poll on the environment and the election
LINK recently published new research by Diffley Partnership examining how environmental issues might influence next year’s Holyrood election. Here are 4 things we learned from the poll.
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Take the environment seriously if you have your eyes on Bute House
First published in the National on 11th October WITH the SNP gathering in Aberdeen for their conference this weekend, all attention will be on next year’s Holyrood election. The sense of invincibility that surrounded the party for so long was punctured by Labour’s victory in the 2024 General Election, which seemed to clear Anas Sarwar’s path…
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Every part of the UK has a pro-climate majority. So why does our politics feel so weird?
New research shows a clear pro-climate majority in every UK local authority. But does this feel reflected in our media and political debate?
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The urban-rural divide… and where to find it (or not)
You will probably be familiar with the concept of the ‘urban-rural divide’ in environmental policy – the idea that environmental action is imposed by city-based policymakers and activists onto rural communities who resent it. This is an idea that has been at the heart of media coverange and political debate around recent backlash to environmental…
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Where are all the bees?
Earlier this summer I found myself repeatedly asking an uncomfortable question: where are all the bees? It turned out I was not alone in being disturbed by the silence in my garden – which, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust explained, was caused by a longer than usual gap between the emergence of queen and worker bees. This gap…
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How did a conspiracy theory become government policy… and should we worry?
One of the most curious government announcements of late was UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s pledge to “stop the misuse of 15 minute cities” where “local councils can decide how often you go to the shops”. 15 minute cities – known in Scotland as ’20 minute neighbourhoods’ – are an urban planning approach intended to…
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What will people give up to save the planet? This might be the wrong question.
Last month’s newsletter explored the high levels of support amongst the UK public for environmental action, after the Uxbridge by-election led to a race by politicians to distance themselves from the green agenda. While the point still stands – the evidence on public opinion is consistent and remarkably clear – it is always worth interrogating attitudes…
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Politicians are underestimating how popular environmental policies are
Would the public support a new wind farm being built on their doorstep? According to MPs, no. A survey of MPs last year found that they were twice as likely to think their constituents would oppose a wind development (43%) than support it (19%). Yet when you ask the public themselves you get a dramatically different answer. More…
Dan Paris 