Poll reveals weakening public opposition to nuclear power

Public opposition to nuclear energy has softened in the past three years, according to a major new poll commissioned by the UK's largest nuclear operator EDF.

The YouGov survey of 4,300 adults found that the overall "favourability rating" of nuclear power amongst those surveyed had quadrupled from +4 to +16 between 2007 and this year.

Crucially, the survey found that 58 per cent of respondents who identified themselves as Liberal Democrat supporters agreed that "nuclear energy has disadvantages, but the country needs it to be part of the energy balance", despite the Lib Dems' explicit opposition to a new fleet of reactors.

Only 32 per cent of Lib Dem supporters said they were opposed to new nuclear reactors, while 47 per cent said they were in favour.

As part of the coalition agreement the Lib Dems have agreed to abstain on parliamentary votes on new nuclear plants, effectively allowing the Conservatives to pursue plans for up to 10 new nuclear reactors to be built over the next decade.

Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, who is expected to meet with newly appointed Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne within the next few weeks to discuss the government's plans for new nuclear plants, welcomed the poll.

"We are pleased to see strong public support across voters from all three major political parties in favour of new nuclear build," De Rivaz told The Guardian. "We believe nuclear power is the lowest-cost low-carbon solution and can be built in the UK without subsidy. Therefore, it must be part of an affordable, clean and secure generation mix."

Huhne has said that he remains personally opposed to nuclear power and is deeply sceptical about whether the industry can build new reactors without some form of government subsidy. However, he admitted recently that he would rubber-stamp plans for new nuclear reactors if the sector could adequately demonstrate that they can be built safely and without public subsidy.

The survey also backed up other recent polls showing that concern over climate change has slipped following a cold winter, the failure of the Copenhagen Summit and the fallout from the so-called Climategate emails scandal.