Poll: Brits think Labour missed the mark by ditching £28bn green pledge

More than half of UK adults believe that the Labour's decision to ditch the green investment plan is misguided.

This is according to the survey of 2,078 UK adults commissioned by Nature 2030 and conducted by Yonder last week.

The survey found that more than half of UK adults believe that Labour’s decision to ditch the green investment plan is misguided.

The multi-billion-pound green investment plan was first announced in 2021 by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the Labour Party Conference, aiming to provide funding for the insulation of homes and the expansion of the UK’s renewable infrastructure.

However, the Labour Party officially announced last week that its £28bn green investment commitment spending will be cut to £15bn in total. The Party claimed this is due to the economic mismanagement by the Conservatives.

The Guardian reports that only a third of this would be considered new money.

Amidst climate action being caught in a culture war and the Conservative party pulling back on the UK’s key net-zero commitments last year, Labour’s financial pledge for climate action was seen as crucial for the country’s net-zero goals by the green economy.

Critics argue that this rollback overlooks the ongoing climate and nature crises, posing significant long-term risks to the UK’s economy.

Public support for deposit return scheme

In addition to the discontentment over Labour’s climate policy reversal, the survey has revealed a strong desire among the British public for further action to address the issue of litter impacting the nation’s high streets, public spaces and waterways.

According to the survey, two-thirds of respondents expressed support for the introduction of a deposit return scheme (DRS) for plastic and glass bottles, as well as aluminium cans—a measure aimed at incentivising recycling and reducing waste.

In late 2018, the UK Government pledged to implement the DRS to boost recycling rates for drinks packaging. However, within 18 months of this commitment, most environmental policymaking in the UK halted as Whitehall resources were redirected to managing the Covid-19 crisis.

As lockdown measures eased and the pandemic waned in priority for Ministers, retailers lobbied for further postponements to the DRS citing the cost-of-living crisis.

Consequently, the nationwide rollout of the DRS in the UK has been postponed to early 2025. Additionally, Scotland, initially aiming to pioneer its own version first in Britain, has also delayed its launch until March this year, sparking criticism from environmental advocates.

Nature 2030’s chair and environmental activist Dominic Dyer said: “The public is clearly in favour of maintaining bold action to invest in the future of our planet, and to take decisive action to help us meet our net-zero ambitions.

“There is also a clear appetite for introducing an ambitious DRS to put an end to the scourge of litter that blights our high streets and countryside.

“Labour must now urgently set out its plan to tackle the climate crisis and to create a green, circular economy. Short-term economic challenges are no excuse for the absence of a long-term commitment to protecting the planet.”