According to the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s public opinion tracker, 24% of people support fracking whilst 23% are against it. The percentage who neither support nor oppose the drilling technique has remained consistent at 49%.
Additionally, the number of people opposed to fracking is falling sharply when compared to the 27% who were against the process in September.
Scottish Conservative Energy Spokesman Murdo Fraser MSP, believes that these figures are illustrative of a growing acceptance of fracking as a result of more information being made available to the public.
Commenting Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said:
“Far from being the ugly duckling of energy generation more people support fracking than are against it.
“Green Lobbyists and politicians have tried hard to block onshore shale gas by claiming that the public was in complete opposition to the process, this poll tells a different story.
“It is important that everyone is armed with the facts when it comes to fracking. Last week the SNP and Labour put political point scoring above hard science and I would encourage both parties to look at this poll when evaluating where public consensus actually lies.
“Shale gas has the potential to create jobs, lower emissions and increase our energy independence and it was with these facts that the Scottish Government’s own expert scientific panel ruled the process safe. It is high time that the Scottish Government supported this industry.”