Reposted from NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
DECEMBER 23, 2021
By Paul Homewood

- 70% of Brits worried about energy costs this Christmas, new ComRes poll reveals.
- Over 60% of Brits say they won’t benefit from the government’s ‘green’ subsidies in poll commissioned by campaign group Net Zero Watch.
- Three in five UK adults aren’t willing to pay higher taxes on their energy bills to help reach Net Zero targets.
- 65% of UK adults say they haven’t been given enough of a say on the government’s Net Zero policies.
- “Net Zero could deliver a political crisis greater than the Poll Tax”
A staggering 70% of Brits say they are concerned about the financial impact of increased energy costs this Christmas, according to a new poll released today. This includes 79% of Labour voters. You can view the data tables here.
Meanwhile three in five (58%) UK adults say they would NOT be willing to pay higher taxes on their energy bills to help reach Net Zero targets including 49% of Labour and Green Party voters.
Two thirds (65%) of UK adults say the public have not been given enough of a say on the Government’s Net Zero policies, and while 30% of 18-24 year olds feel their voices have been heard, only 10% of all those over 45 feel they have had sufficient input.



The poll, commissioned by Net Zero Watch and conducted by Savanta ComRes, also found over 60% of Brits believe they won’t benefit from government’s ‘green’ subsidies – £5,000 to replace gas boilers with heat pumps and 35% of the cost of an electric vehicles, up to £2,500.
The most unpopular policy of the late twentieth century, and one that ultimately brought down Margaret Thatcher, was the introduction of the UK Poll Tax. In the months leading up to its introduction in April 1990, polls showed around 60% of the population were opposed to it.
With a raft of measures set for introduction, such as the phasing out of gas boilers by 2035, petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and the mandatory EPC ‘C’ rating for landlords by 2025, the current government looks as if it is heading towards a “Poll Tax” moment of their own. These figures clearly show that the country is not behind either the policies or the direction of travel, and over two-thirds don’t feel they’ve been given a say.
Craig Mackinlay MP, Chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group said:
“As I’ve been saying for some time, I didn’t become a Conservative to make my constituents colder and poorer.
“It’s clear, looking at these figures, that the British public are not signed up to the government’s plans. They feel they haven’t been consulted or had their say; the majority don’t feel that government grants for air pumps or electric cars are either relevant to them, or more fundamentally needed to nudge them towards unreliable technologies they don’t want, and there is real worry about the ever-increasing costs of energy bills this winter.
“The general public are quite obviously not onside, and we need to be very careful about just whose shoulders are going to be carrying the very considerable costs of Net Zero.”
Steve Baker MP, who heads up the steering committee of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group said:
“I’ve warned that the cost of Net Zero could deliver a political crisis greater than the Poll Tax, and these figures show that the government are heading straight for such an eventuality.
“The British people are clearly deeply unhappy about paying higher taxes to help reach Net Zero targets and feel they haven’t been consulted about the choices the government are making.
“Grants for air pumps and electric cars are all very well, but how many people can actually afford to pay all the additional costs? 20% think they will actually benefit.
“We are heading down a path where blithe promises are made without considering the realities of current technology and the fact that many people in this country will just be left colder and poorer.“
Benny Peiser, Director of Net Zero Watch, said:
“Whilst these are not shocking figures to us, they should ring alarm bells in No. 10. Britain may have hosted COP26, but the general public feel that they have not been given a real say on the changes the government are forcing through.
“Millions of families will be struggling to keep their homes warm and their cars running this winter. Fuel prices continue to soar and the burden of these energy costs will fall on the elderly and the low paid at a time when people are already finding things tough.
“The government need to start listening and setting a more realistic path. We cannot bankrupt the country for an arbitrary goal or to look good on the international stage.”
https://www.netzerowatch.com/three-in-five-brits-reject-higher-taxes-to-reach-net-zero/
the silly part is they think they still live in a Democracy. After Brexit was approved, the UK Left vowed “never again.”
This is fake news statistics. Interview only people whose name is on gas or electricity bill.
That’ll be dad and mum then. They will have a different view from their children who are benefitting from the bill payers charity.
Reality strikes when you have to deal with the hard cold finances of the real world on your own.
Yeah. The people may not WANT to pay more in taxes, but it’s really funny when you consider that they still believe they have a say in that anymore.
I would like to see a similar poll in Australia. I doubt that the results would be any different. The NRMA is all for electric cars, but does not realize that most of the so-called electric cars in Australia are in fact coal powered.
We has, in the UK, hydrogen powered cars after WW2. The gas (mixed with CO) was contained in a large balloon secured to the roof of the car. You had to fill the balloon at home from the town gas system.
See https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/11/gas-bag-vehicles.html for photos of gas powered cars and buses, and following is an interesting discussion on the subject. It appears that gas powered buses existed in China till recently.
Thanks, Dudley, but I wish I hadn’t seen those photos, it shakes my faith in the future of humans. Merry Christmas.
You might have to buy an old classic car, with a carburetor. I think it is highly unlikely you would be able to tune a modern common rail injection car to run on the stuff.
In WW2 in the UK vehicles were modified to run on town gas.
Looks like we’ve come full circle then, Braden runs on methane.
Great link, thanks very much!
Identify the two in 5 willing to pay more taxes and get them to pay it… subsidize the ones who are un_willing.. Watch heads explode!!!
*sigh*
The two in five willing to pay more in taxes are not willing for themselves to pay more. They are however, willing and eager for *you* to pay more.
Three in five are honest about wanting others to pay for it while two in five are dishonest about it. Understand that and you understand why these people have been voting for these policies for decades now.
The 2 in 5 pay no taxes anyway so its a free lunch for them.
That’s a very good point. Did the samplers check out income status? How much about Net Zero do the 34% understand? Lord Lawson in the Spectator “unparalleled economic calamity”
Yes, it would be nice to know the wording of the question (s).
“Identify the two in 5 willing to pay”
Middle class/upper middle class and hideously white.
The Middle class/upper middle class didn’t get to being Middle class/upper middle class by allowing their money to be wasted on idiocy like NetZero.
It seems you’re a racist. You need treatment.
It seems you’re a racist.
Being hideously white and working class, myself, that’s very funny. Excellent!
You should have that uptight streak of yours checked out. It could be going woke.
No one needs to be any particular colour to be a racist.
Identifying any skin colour as hideous is about as overtly racist as it gets.
Nor is there anything woke about anti-racism.
You need to get better aquatinted with what racism is.
Whoa, fretslider! I resemble that remark, and I wouldn’t pay a penny for CliSciFi schemes.
Only Griff knows who they are.
Shared responsibility based on religious (i.e. behavioral) rigor, social equity, and redistributive change directly proportional to faith. That is to say Green, knee, pay.
“I’ve warned that the cost of Net Zero could deliver a political crisis greater than the Poll Tax”
…ain’t that the truth.
Let’s hope
The problem is, there is no-one to vote for in the UK who doesn’t buy into the insane Net Zero agenda. All of the political parties, including the SNP, are firmly committed to the madness.
You’re right, michel. Even the Reform Party are only objecting to specific policies, like banning gas boilers. They are not yet questioning the whole agenda root and branch (though, as a party member, I have been putting in my own small efforts towards making this happen). When people start asking questions like “why do we need net zero in the first place?” (we don’t, there is in reality no CO2 emissions problem to be “solved”), and “what are the benefits of net zero to us?” (there aren’t any benefits, only huge costs), that will be when fur really starts to fly. Oh, and “why did Major and the Tories sign up to Rio way back in 1992, without consulting the people, or even making us aware of the scale of what they were wanting to do?”
This is the calculation, using internationally recognised data, nothing fancy, no hidden agenda, just something we can all do by taking our socks and shoes off.
Assuming increasing atmospheric CO2 is causing the planet to warm:
Atmospheric CO2 levels in 1850 (beginning of the Industrial Revolution): ~280ppm (parts per million atmospheric content) (Vostock Ice Core).
Atmospheric CO2 level in 2021: ~410ppm. (Manua Loa)
410ppm minus 280ppm = 130ppm ÷ 171 years (2021 minus 1850) = 0.76ppm of which man is responsible for ~3% = ~0.02ppm.
That’s every human on the planet and every industrial process adding ~0.02ppm CO2 to the atmosphere per year on average. At that rate mankind’s CO2 contribution would take ~25,000 years to double which, the IPCC states, would cause around 2°C of temperature rise. That’s ~0.0001°C increase per year for ~25,000 years.
One hundred (100) generations from now (assuming ~25 years per generation) would experience warming of ~0.25°C more than we have today. ‘The children’ are not threatened!
Furthermore, the Manua Loa CO2 observatory (and others) can identify and illustrate Natures small seasonal variations in atmospheric CO2 but cannot distinguish between natural and manmade atmospheric CO2.
Hardly surprising. Mankind’s CO2 emissions are so inconsequential this ‘vital component’ of Global Warming can’t be illustrated on the regularly updated Manua Loa graph.
Mankind’s emissions are independent of seasonal variation and would reveal itself as a straight line, so should be obvious.
Not even the global fall in manmade CO2 over the early Covid-19 pandemic, estimated at ~14% (14% of ~0.02ppm CO2 = 0.0028ppm), registers anywhere on the Manua Loa data. Unsurprisingly.
In which case, the warming the planet has experienced is down to naturally occurring atmospheric CO2, all 97% of it.
That’s entirely ignoring the effect of the most powerful ‘greenhouse’ gas, water vapour which is ~96% of all greenhouse gases.
Your analysis is entirely valid.
How did you determine the 3%?
Please provide proper URLs
The whole climate fighting cabal of blaming the CO2 of burning fossil, is nothing but a red herring to slowly wean the world away from burning fossil, because we will run out of fossil within the next 50 to 100 years.
As fossil becomes scarcer, it would become hugely more expensive, as demonstrated regarding very-high-priced, scarce gas in Europe at $65/million Btu
It would take that long to convert the entire world.
It is time to tell serious truths.
Even UN Climate Finance czar Marc Carney, ex-Bank-of-England chief, at COP26 :
Net-Zero a Ruthless, Relentless Focus for GFANZ: Mark Carney
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-11-01/net-zero-a-ruthless-relentless-focus-for-gfanz-carney-video
is telling the truth .
CO2, climate are distractions.
What is true is that the City of London and Wall Street are desperately, ruthlessly and relentlessly pursuing a BAIL-OUT !
Carney tones it down to $100 TRILLION in an open Bloomberg interview. That is clearly just to start.
Everyone remembers Northern Wreck, Lehmann. Tell voters that they were only an entree!
Tell voters they are about to be gouged to the freezing bones by a financial cabal whose very policies have totally bankrupted the transatlantic.
Do that and watch the party politico’s feathers fly!
“When people start asking questions like “why do we need net zero in the first place?””
Yes, that’s what people ought to be asking their elected officials.
There is no evidence CO2 is harmful to humans and no reason to regulate it. There is no evidence CO2 causes the Earth’s climate to change in any discernable way.
There *is* evidence the Earth’s climate can cool, even when CO2 is increasing, such as the present day where CO2 concentrations continue to climb, yet the current temperaures are cooling, down 0.6C since 2016.
Ask your elected officials: How can it be cooling when CO2 is increasing?
Ask them about the cooling from 1940 to 1980, while CO2 concentrations increased the entire time period. How do they explain that, if CO2 is connected to temperaure increases?
There’s no evidence CO2 is anything other than a benign gas, essential for life. It’s demonization will be the ruination of a lot of people.
After the Brexit cock up – Boris was supposed to split the vote and lose – they will never chance it again
Imposition is their way forward
O/T New BBC Climate Churnalist:
I was listening to Radio 4 this morning. The program was doing the Mastermind quiz and the new climate churnalist only managed to get 2 questions right in 2 minutes, one of which was which teenage climate activist wasn’t invited to COP26 but went anyway?
It should be a laugh reading his column
Steve Baker MP?
Oh dear.
You missed out the other 649 rats in Parliament, griff.
Figures.
Yes I’m sorry griff, he was elected an MP way back in 2010. Where have you been these last 11 years?
griff?
Oh dear.
Former Flight Lieutenant in the RAF, consulting software engineer, Chief Technical Officer, BEng in Aerospace Engineering, MSc in Computation….
What have you done with your life that you can express scorn at him?
If the Grifter doesn’t like him, he must be alright 🙂
This segment from Mr. Baker’s Wikipedia biography may explain why Griffy-poo apparently does not like him….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Baker_(politician)
“He has expressed scepticism about the exact scope of human influence on climate change, stating in 2010 that the science appears to be subject to uncertainties and that bad economics are a greater threat to civilisation than climate change.[60] Baker voted against the party Whip to oppose the construction of the High Speed 2 rail line in 2010, although the line did not pass through his own constituency, arguing that the whole plan should be scrapped.[61][62] He is a trustee of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, an organisation which has historically breached Charity Commission rules on impartiality in its climate change coverage.”
Yes, one of the very few people to enter Westminster with honest intentions..
..now let me think, the last one I can remember was about 400yrs ago, but he was into blowing the whole place to smithereens…
And not forgetting the Guardian from 7 November last-
“Few willing to change their lifestyle to save the planet, climate survey finds”-
guardian.com/environment/2021/nov/07/few-willing-to-change-lifestyle-survey
It is hard to be concerned for a generation in 2100 who will only be three and a half times better off than us (rather than 4 times more advantaged) after being ravaged by climate change.
3.94 vs 4x
It’s “not” worse than you thought.
Electric Vehicle assistance to limit of 2,500 pounds? Maybe buy a golf cart at the 35% discount? Not much else.
A Tesla Model S owner in Finland decided to blow up his electric car with dynamite after it needed a battery replacement, which Tesla said was going to cost $22,000.
https://youtu.be/DG9Izqp6WWU
A mannequin with the face of Elon Musk was placed in the driver’s seat before the explosion.
He should have just put an internal combustion engine in the Tesla.
“Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars
UK police trial Tesla cars as fleets prepare for shift to electricPositive results may lead to Model 3 cars being adopted by police, paramedic and fire services”
I hope they have enough ‘dyno-mate’ when the battery change time comes.
Your taxes at work. State institutions decide to go green and expensive on taxpayers’ money.
An internal combustion engine powering a generator and he could keep everything else standard.
The weight savings from the heavy battery should make ICE powered Tesla’s really scoot.
Not that simple, my Volvo 940 (1992) is 163 bhp or 121 kW.
Hyundai diesel 100 kW generator spec:
Dimensions L x W x H (mm) 3200 x 1050 x 1760
Net Weight (kg)1550
£13,198.99 inc. VAT
Finns like to blow things up, national pastime and recreation.
Yes, but that doesn’t mean they won’t vote for other people to pay higher taxes on their energy bills.
It means that the costed plans of the Labour Part are easily spun against. But the deceptive (yet identical) plans of the Conservative Party can be snuck through.
Remember, Tories lie. When they say “I didn’t become a Conservative to make my constituents colder and poorer” you should know better than to believe them.
Their actions show that they don’t mean that. It’s a con.
In general politicians and journalists are the least trusted people, so who would believe anything to a journalist who became a leading politician by permanently being veritas remote.
And he wasn’t even a particularly good journalist
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count of the support of Paul.
Trick is having more Pauls than Peters.
Your Peter always runs out.
I don’t think Labour has much to crow about concerning the “con” game.
Matthew, you admit that the Labour party’s plans are identical to those of the Tories.
If Graham Stringer MP were to say, “I didn’t become a Labour MP to make my constituents colder and poorer,” would you believe him?
Good question.
I think that Graham Stringer MP would claim he wanted his constituents to be healthy and empowered. His support for the NHS and social equality back that up.
If he said he never intended to raise taxes on anyone then I would doubt his integrity. But Labour carefully don’t say that.
You may claim a lie by omission but not uncaring deception.
It’s not that same.
Wanting other people’s taxes raised so that you can have more free stuff has been the socialist shell game since the beginning.
At his annual conference Vlad the Terrible accused Germany of reselling Russian gas to Poland, by reversing gas flow in the pipeline. It looks like he sent all concerned a happy Xmas salute.

VUK,
Germany can do this, because EU bureaucrats require 2-way gas flow through pipes.
As a result, Gazprom could not send any NEW gas to the EU via that line (which runs through Poland) to reduce Europe’s gas shortage situation.
Poland has refused to sign long-term contracts for LOW-COST gas supply from Russia, because of HATING-RUSSIA reasons.
Poland buys LNG from the US, but THAT high-cost supply is grossly insufficient during winter.
Germany is sending high-cost gas to Poland, until LNG tankers arrive from elsewhere, including the US.
Putin points his finger to hid head to indicate the utter craziness of it all.
Most of those LNG tankers, including the ones from the US, appear to be heading for the Asian markets where they can get a higher price.
MP: “Three in five?!? That’s almost half!”
Less than half, according to RE politicians using global-warming math
Taxes, high or low, have zero effect on climate, or weather, or environment. Once that money is in the hands of government, any government, it is lost and in England/EU it will do only harm to every citizen. Humans must wage a violent jihad against this religious hysteria and drive it’s adherents out of our affairs permanently.
They’re just not falling for the old bait and switch routine anymore watermelons-
Energy switching is at record low as crisis continues (msn.com)
Hmm, in the article there’s a comment that government should intervene to fix the problem.
Isn’t government intervention the cause of the problem?
To a socialist, the answer to any problem is more government, especially those problems that are caused by government.
+42X42^42. The Government gives, the Government takes away. The winners are the entrenched, unelected Deep State bureaucrats.
We have already reached Net Greening. That said, the true believers in Net Zero (e.g. two-child), should cover their lands with the Green blight for religious rigor, scientific equity, and social justice.
Poeple will change their minds when they struggle to pay the electricity bill whilst living in an unheated house.
A diverse combination of three in five people… persons are not so green to dump green for Green and intermittent/renewables. Two in five will balance the per capita equity scale of a Green and blighted future.
I’m willing to bet that it’s well more than a mere 3/5ths. What people say in polls is nearly meaningless compared to how they actually behave. At least 1/5th of those respondents were likely virtue signaling.
Polls???
The proper question to ask is:
How can you help to achieve NetZero which will cost $100-150 TRILLION ?
1)taxes
2)donations
3)call my representative
Except, of course, that current suggestions will most definitely NOT achieve NetZero.
The statistics indicate less liberals than thought. Surprise. There is an old saying, a liberal is one who’s interests are not at stake.
Liberalism is a philosophy of divergence, typically generational, geographical, sectarian (e.g. special and peculiar interests), etc.
That number will be a lot closer to 9 in 10 when people learn how more everything will cost. Increased demand drives the costs of mining, refining, modern fibers, modern resins, common and uncommon metals sky high.
Properties that require substantial and costly construction upgrades will plummet in value.
Elites will consider harmed property values as their investment gifts for buying, upgrading and selling at substantial profit to people that will spend decades under heavy debt.
Of course we are already paying much higher energy costs to cover existing ‘green’ energy costs. But, to quote a phrase, not a lot of people know that!
Apparently two in five Brits are brain dead like griff.