Six in ten Britons support GB Energy in principle, with the public highly supportive of expanding renewable energy production.

The results of a YouGov survey shows that the Labour flagship policy has generally found support with the public, however, a hypothetical alternative that both generated energy and sold it directly to consumers holds an even higher level of support – seven in ten Britons (72 per cent) favouring an integrated government-owned energy company, with just one in eleven opposed to the idea.

The crunch point here is whether the idea supported in principle will really deliver, with the public are split on whether GB Energy as currently envisioned can bring down energy prices with roughly a third thinking it will (29 per cent), a third thinking it will lead in increases (28 per cent) and 24 per cent no difference.

Although it is clear that the majority of the public support the broad concept of a government-owned energy company, this gap in public support suggests that the public might not be getting out of GB Energy what they necessarily expect from it.

Clear majorities favour Britain getting more of its power from renewable sources, with solar and tidal energy receiving the greatest backing, at 74 per cent. No more than one in ten want a reduction in any kind of renewable energy generation; onshore wind has the most detractors, but even then, only 10 per cent of Britons want less power generated by it.

As with most things, there’s a a catch – the British public are more likely to support building in principle compared to locally. Across the nine types of energy infrastructure polled, Britons were consistently less likely to support it being built locally – with the gap varying from three points less support for shale gas wells near them to 11 points lower support for a nearby nuclear power station. Also the level of knowledge of the general public might be questioned, as 68 per cent want an end to coal power (ironically, as at end of next month the UK’s last coal power station will close anyway). Perception though, as always, trumps fact.

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