Poll shows majority against new nuclear power plants

3.04.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 8th Aug 2005

Poll shows majority against new nuclear power plants

A new Populas poll has found that people now favour wind farms and renewable energy sources rather than building new nuclear power stations. The poll also found that politicians are not trusted to tell the truth about nuclear safety! 79% of those polled back renewables as a replacement for imported energy.

59% of those questioned believe that it would be irresponsible to build more nuclear power stations while problems remain in disposing of nuclear waste. Half of respondents go so far as to say that they believe nuclear power to be unsafe.

The poll revealed that the public does not trust politicians or energy companies to tell the truth about nuclear power. Only 1 per cent of those polled believed that ministers or MPs would be truthful about safety. A shockingly low number!

Populus interviewed 1,000 adults across Britain over the past four weeks and questioned each of them on their perception of nuclear power in the UK.

According to DTI figures, updated in July 2005, Britons consumed 237.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2001, an 11% increase on 1990. The mix has changed since the 1970s, with natural gas replacing coal.

Natural gas accounted for 40% of fuel consumed in 2001, against 24% in 1990 and 3% in 1970. The increase is due to using gas to generate electricity. Coal made up 17% of consumption in 2001, down from 31% in 1990. Petroleum was 32%, against 37% in 1990. Renewables and waste were 1% in 2001 and 0% in 1990

Transport was the biggest consumer of energy in 2001, taking 34% of the total