The Government is poised to give the green light to the controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power plant.
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The poll also showed just under two thirds said they believed the government should prioritise an energy system based around renewables, while 16 per cent believed it should prioritise nuclear and five per cent wanted policymakers to focus on gas-fired power stations.
Hinkley is due to be built by the French largely state-owned energy company EDF, with financial backing from China.
It’s thought the Prime Minister has insisted on a new contract which addresses her concerns that the United Kingdom is giving China a big stake in our nuclear power infrastructure. At the time, she promised to come to a decision on it by September.
When the deal was agreed by David Cameron previous year, the agreement concerned only Hinkley Point but said the Government would look favourably on a Chinese-built reactor at Bradwell in Essex. During her recent visit to the G20 summit in China, Mrs May defended the delay, saying she wanted a fresh look at the evidence.
However, sources at Downing Street have dismissed the media reports and insisted that the prime minister is yet to decide whether to approve Hinkley Point.
The Prime Minister has promised to make a decision on the £18 billion project by the end of the month, but ITV News reported she had meant to make an announcement on Monday but had to postpone.
Mrs May is said to have planned to make the announcement last Monday and lined up a telephone call to French President François Hollande – only for it to be cancelled at the 11th hour when fresh questions were raised.
Asked about Bradwell on Tuesday, the business and energy secretary Greg Clark told MPs that “the decision is on the particular contract …with Hinkley C. That’s what we are reviewing”.
The review comes amid concerns about the high cost of energy from the proposed Somerset plant, and the security implications of Chinese involvement in a piece of critical national infrastructure.
The plant would generate 25,0000 jobs and produce 3.2 GW of power.
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John Sauven, executive director at Greenpeace, said: “The public knows what the government has yet to learn – investment in renewables should be prioritised over nuclear power”.
