More than twice as many people oppose fracking than support it, according to a government survey published today.

The public attitudes tracker, published by the department for energy security and net zero (DESNZ), found that 40% of those questioned opposed fracking.

The survey, carried out in spring 2023, showed opposition had increased from 36% in autumn 2022 when the question was last asked.

Overall support for fracking in spring 2023 had fallen to 18%, down from 25% in autumn 2022.

31% of people questioned for the spring 2023 survey said they neither supported nor opposed fracking. 11% said they did not know.

According to the findings, men continue to be more likely to support fracking than women (23% versus 13%) but opposition was virtually the same (40% for men and 39% for women). Women were more likely than men to say they didn’t know (15% versus 7%).

Strongest support by age for fracking was among people aged 65+ (22%). Lowest support for fracking was among 25-34 year olds (12%). Opposition was highest among 45-54 year olds (44%) and lowest among 16-24 year olds (36%).

Among the UK countries, opposition to fracking was strongest in Wales (48%) and Scotland (47%). In the English regions, support was highest in the east midlands (26%) and opposition was highest in the north west (42%).

The survey found that awareness of fracking had fallen since the question was last asked in autumn 2022 (down to 82% from 86%).

• More than 4,000 people took part in the survey, both online and on paper, between 18 March and 22 April 2024. The survey no longer asks about the reasons for their attitudes to fracking. The results cannot be compared with the Wave Tracker series of surveys carried out between 2013-2020. Questions about attitudes to fracking are now asked annually, rather than quarterly.

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