We use cookies where necessary to allow us to understand how people interact with our website and content, so that we can continue to improve our service.
We only ever receive anonymous information, and cannot track you across other websites.
View our privacy policy
In the run up to this year’s party conference, Reform party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, urged investors to halt new offshore wind projects, despite news of a record high in green energy approvals. Labour condemned the move as “outrageous and unpatriotic,” warning it undermines investor confidence. But does Reform’s stance align with wider opinion?
Support for offshore wind remains very high in the UK – around three quarters of the public consistently have supported this form of renewable energy over recent years. Even Reform’s support is strong, with the majority of the party’s backers expressing a favourable view of offshore wind (60%). This support extends to other renewables infrastructure too – such as solar power (68%).
A majority of Reform backers also say they would support such new renewables in their own areas as well – 55% would support onshore wind farms, 58% solar energy parks, and 51% would support new pylons and power lines for carrying renewable energy. Part of the issue here is the ‘perception gap’ around renewables – while 3 in 5 Brits support local renewable energy infrastructure projects, neither MPs nor the public realise how strong that support is.
New data from the spring 2026 wave of the DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker shows that 1 in 10 owner occupiers have already installed solar panels on their home and a further 57% say they would definitely or probably do so in the next few years. This presents an increase from 52% who said the same in spring 2025 but is still slightly below peak values in spring 2023.
When asked about the main reasons for considering solar, those who were likely to install them listed cutting electricity bills (83%), the renewable nature of the technology (72%) and reduced dependence on the electricity grid (51%).
Among owner occupiers who were unlikely to install solar panels, the main reasons for not considering the technology were the installation being too expensive (55%) and the payback taking too long (53%).
When asked what would encourage them to consider getting solar, 3 in 4 owner-occupiers named better financial support for installation (75%), followed by a guarantee scheme to cover any faults or damage (50%) and better financial incentives to sell excess electricity back to the grid (44%). These three incentives remain unchanged as top 3 since spring 2024, emphasising that the high outlay cost remains the largest barrier for those eligible to install solar on their homes.
New data from the spring 2026 wave of the DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker shows owner-occupiers are now more likely to say they already have or are likely to install a heat pump when they next need to change their heating system or boiler.
26% now say they have either already installed an air source heat pump or are very or fairly likely to install one when their heating system next needs upgrading. This is up 6 percentage points from the winter 2021 baseline and equals the previous peak from spring 2025. Change appears to be largely driven by fewer people saying they don’t know enough about the heating technology, now at 21%, which equals values in spring and summer 2025 but is down from 39% in winter 2021.
The share of owner-occupiers who say they are likely to install a ground source heat pump is lower, though an uptick from summer and winter 2025 is also observable here: 17% say they either already have or are very or fairly likely to install the technology next time their heating system needs upgrading, close to the highest point of 18% from spring 2025.
How did climate show up at the 2026 elections?