Just 25% of the public think a Conservative government led by Boris Johnson is the best choice to handle climate change and environment issues, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Opinium and the Conservative Environment Network and provided exclusively to Sky News, revealed that 32% of the public thought a Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer would be better.

According to the nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 adults, there seemed to be a particular problem among the Tory party’s own voters, with only half of those who voted Conservative in 2019 backing a Johnson government to handle climate change, compared to 70% on the economy and 58% on immigration.

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Almost half of all of those polled believe that the UK government is underreacting to climate change, and only 22% believe it is doing enough on the issue.

The news comes ahead of the publication of the government’s long awaited Net Zero Strategy, Comprehensive Spending Review, and Heat and Buildings strategy, which will include a plan to replace gas boilers with low carbon alternatives.

According to those surveyed, climate change is one of the top three issues facing the country alongside the economy and healthcare, and 83% reported being worried about the environment and global warming.

The government’s target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 enjoys broad support from nearly three quarters of the public, who also believe that reaching net zero and tackling climate change should be one of the top two priorities in the chancellor’s upcoming spending review alongside the NHS.

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Director of the Conservative Environment Network, Sam Hall, said: “This polling should give Boris Johnson confidence going into the Conservative party conference that key voters back ambitious action to tackle climate change.

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“In fact – whether it’s prioritising climate change in the spending review and internationally, or taking swifter action to reduce emissions – the findings suggest that voters would support the PM to go even further.”

Opinium research manager James Crouch said: “Even where there are concerns about the costs of going green, widespread support for tackling climate change persists.

“The opportunity for the government is to demonstrate that they are the ones to fight climate change while actively engaging with those concerns.”

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Watch the Daily Climate Show at 6.30pm Monday to Friday on Sky News, the Sky News website and app, on YouTube and Twitter.

The show investigates how global warming is changing our landscape and highlights solutions to the crisis.

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