Half of UK Conservative voters support renationalizing energy firms

• 47% of Conservative voters support returning energy corporations to public ownership.
• Margaret Thatcher privatized Britain’s energy suppliers more than 30 years ago.
• Energy bills are scheduled to rise by 80% to an average of 3,549 pounds ($4,140) per year in October.

Over half of the Conservative Party’s supporters support renationalizing the country’s energy business, as rising energy prices put a strain on household budgets, according to a survey released on Monday.

The government has been under increasing pressure to do more to assist Britons facing energy bills that are scheduled to rise by 80% to an average of 3,549 pounds ($4,140) per year beginning in October as wholesale gas prices hit record highs.

According to a YouGov poll conducted for the Times newspaper, 47% of those who plan to vote Conservative in the next election support returning energy corporations to public ownership, with 28% opposed and 25% unsure.

Renationalization was supported by 53% of Conservative voters in the 2019 election.

Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher privatized Britain’s energy suppliers more than 30 years ago. While the opposition Labour Party has historically advocated for renationalization, current leader Keir Starmer has stated that the funds would be better spent directly on lowering people’s costs.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister in a vote scheduled for September 5, has said she prefers tax cuts to direct payments to assist people cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

The YouGov poll, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday before the latest increase in energy bills was revealed by the regulator, indicated that 55% of those polled expected to turn down or limit their heating use in the coming months.

It also discovered that 21% claimed they would be unable to heat their home “except on a very limited basis,” and 5% indicated they could not afford to heat their home at all.

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