The UK Government announced in November 2020 that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030, the first step in a two-phase approach that would see all new cars and vans being fully zero emission at the tailpipe from 2035. In the latest poll from Redfield & Wilton Strategies, we find that a plurality (44%) of British respondents support the Government’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. Other respondents are split between opposing the ban (27%) and neither supporting nor opposing it (26%).

Opposition to the Government’s announced ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 is higher among respondents who own cars (30%) than those who do not own cars (16%). Still, a plurality (42%) of car-owners support the ban.

Interestingly, though the policy was introduced under a Conservative Government, those who voted for Labour in the 2019 General Election are more likely than those who voted Conservative to support the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars beginning in 2030: 48% of Labour voters support the ban, compared to 39% of Conservative voters. A third (36%) of Conservative voters oppose the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.  

Opinion does not vary significantly by age, with support for the environmental policy ranging from 40% of those aged 65 and over to 49% of those aged 25 to 34.

The Government’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars beginning in 2030 has the support of a plurality—but not majority—of all age groups, 2019 Conservative and Labour voters, and car-owners and non-car-owners alike. In fact, it may be one of few policies from the current Government that has greater support among Labour voters than Conservative voters.