The parliament elected in July is considerably greener than its immediate predecessor, new polling has found.
A survey by YouGov for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found that 94 per cent of MPs support the target of net zero by 2050. That is compared to 76 per cent of MPs elected to the previous parliament, which was Conservative dominated.
The current parliament, as elected on 4th July 2024, was comprised of 411 Labour MPs, 121 Conservative MPs and 72 Liberal Democrat MPs. There are now 403 Labour MPs, following the removal of the whip from 7 party rebels and Rosie Duffield’s decision to quit Labour.
In their election manifestos, each of the three major parties committed to the 2050 net zero target — including the Conservatives, which diluted the UK’s climate policies in the previous parliament under the leadership of prime minister Rishi Sunak.
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There are also five MPs from the net zero-sceptic Reform UK party, and four MPs from the Greens in the new parliament. Reform’s “Contract with the People”, unveiled at the general election, pledged to abandon all existing carbon emissions targets. The Green manifesto, meanwhile, said the party would “push the government to transition to a zero-carbon society as soon as possible, and more than a decade ahead of 2050.”
Before the election in July, just under three-quarters of Conservative MPs (70 per cent) supported the net zero target; today, it is more than four-fifths (81 per cent).
45 per cent of MPs in the last parliament saw artificial intelligence as the best opportunity for growth — slightly less (43 per cent) saw renewable energy and clean technology as the best growth opportunity. But following the election, 78 per cent of MPs view renewable energy and clean technology as the best opportunity for growth.
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The vast majority of current MPs (79 per cent) also have a favourable view of onshore wind compared to 56 per cent before the election. And 60 per cent said the people who voted for them in July had a favourable view of onshore wind, compared to 35 per cent in the last parliament.
However, the ECIU’s findings also suggest many MPs are misinformed when it comes to the technologies for reaching net zero.
In this latest polling, around a third (31 per cent) of Labour MPs, and just under a third (27 per cent) of all MPs, said “hydrogen can play a significant role in heating homes in the future”.
The ECIU notes that this contrasts sharply with what many experts have concluded — which is that hydrogen is not the solution to decarbonising our homes.
Overall, just 22 per cent of MPs said “hydrogen can play only a niche role in heating homes in the future”, and only 9 per cent thought it would have no role.
On electric cars, around two-fifths of MPs (39 per cent) think the UK’s grid will not be able to cope with demand created by the shift to EVs. The National Grid has explicitly labelled this a “myth” and has clearly stated that the power system will be able to cope with millions more EVs in the UK.
Only 16 per cent of MPs wrongly think EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars. But this proportion is much higher among Conservative MPs, where 44 per cent believe this to be the case compared to 7 per cent of Labour.
Responding to the findings, John Whitby, Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales, said: “The vast majority of MPs now recognise what the science tells us, which is that cutting emissions to net zero is the only way of halting the ever-worsening extremes of climate change.
“But many also see the global momentum towards net zero, through renewables, electric cars and heat pumps as the key economic growth opportunity of our times. We all need to work hard to ensure our approach to this vital conversation is informed by expert opinion and led by the best available evidence. We have to get our facts right.”
Alasdair Johnstone, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Many MPs seem to recognise that countries need to hit net zero emissions if we’re to stop climate change worsening, they get that basic scientific fact.
“They may also have seen the public polling showing swing voters at the last election were a shade greener than average and witnessed Rishi Sunak’s going ‘soft’ on net zero delivering zero election dividend.
“The public now expect delivery, and this is where it’s important MPs have their facts right. Experts see only a niche role for hydrogen heating given its inherent inefficiency and cost despite protestations from industry interests. On the other hand, heat pumps running on British renewable energy can deliver energy security by reducing the need for imports.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
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