Polling shows voters in south of England switched because of Conservative inaction on polluted rivers and beaches

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14302779

The sewage crisis was a significant factor in the Tories’ losing support in the “blue wall” in the south of England, electoral polling suggests.

Seven out of 10 voters supported legal measures to eliminate sewage spills in ecologically sensitive areas by 2030, according to polling conducted for Greenpeace by Survation just before the election. Less than a third of voters thought the Conservatives were right to weaken their commitments on the climate crisis and the environment.

The Tories lost 37 of the 52 “blue wall” seats in the south of England, with 24 taken by the Liberal Democrats, who campaigned strongly on sewage and the crisis of polluted rivers and beaches. Some of those seats, particularly along the Thames, include spots where some of the worst sewage problems have been reported.

One in four people in the region told pollsters that the Conservative party’s stance on the environment was a key reason for not voting for them; nationally, only a fifth of people cited this as a reason.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    2•4 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Seven out of 10 voters supported legal measures to eliminate sewage spills in ecologically sensitive areas by 2030, according to polling conducted for Greenpeace by Survation just before the election.

    The Tories lost 37 of the 52 “blue wall” seats in the south of England, with 24 taken by the Liberal Democrats, who campaigned strongly on sewage and the crisis of polluted rivers and beaches.

    “This survey shows how Sunak’s divisive anti-green agenda, his net zero rollbacks and his desire to ‘max out’ oil and gas backfired at the ballot box,” she said.

    The strong increase in support for the Lib Dems and the Green party, both of which have much stronger environmental policies than Labour, should give Keir Starmer a warning, she said.

    He may have achieved a historic victory but there is a lot of appetite for much bolder climate action, fairer taxes for the wealthy elite and the kind of investment needed to deliver the real change he is promising,” she said.

    The party took North Herefordshire, which previously had a 25,000 Conservative majority, and the newly created seat of Waveney in rural East Anglia, as well as winning in Bristol Central and retaining Brighton Pavilion.

    The original article contains 667 words, the summary contains 199 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!