the era of ultra-cheap mortgages are nearing an end, as lenders pull their lowest-cost deals in anticipation of an interest rate hike by the Bank of England. Despite these challenges, a recent study has found that the environment has become the number one pressing concern of the British public, nearly double that of the economy.
Four in 10 people in the European nation referred to climate change, environment and pollution were their major issue, the highest score the topic has secured since it was included in the survey in October 1988. It was twice the number of participants who found the economy to be their biggest concern. A total of 1,009 British adults participated in the survey, which was conducted by London-based market research company Ipsos MORI.
However, it is noteworthy that the study was conducted during the UN climate summit which recently concluded in Glasgow, which may have had a certain level of influence on its findings, although a host of other factors may have also contributed to the results.
According to Michael Clemence, the associate research director at Ipsos MORI, this record high concern regarding the environment was “likely an impact of the COP26 conference”. Nevertheless, he added that the “widespread agreement on this priority across different groups including across supporters of both the Labour and Conservative parties, although younger people stand out as putting COVID-19 marginally ahead.”
The figures were described by Leo Barasi, author of The Climate Majority as a “remarkable turnaround in public opinion”. “Four years ago the environment wasn’t even a top-15 issue with the public. […] Since then we’ve had a string of heat waves and floods, UN science reports and mass public protests – and opinion has changed dramatically,” he noted.
