(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A large majority of people in Britain would be willing to pay so-called green taxes, according to a poll by ICM Research published in The Guardian. 63 per cent of respondents support the introduction of taxes designed to discourage things that are harmful to the environment, while 35 per cent oppose them.

In June 2007, Gordon Brown officially became Labour leader and prime minister, replacing Tony Blair. Brown had worked as chancellor of the exchequer. Blair served as Britain’s prime minister since May 1997, winning majority mandates in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections to the House of Commons.

In March, British chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling unveiled the 2008 budget, which introduced a series of fiscal measures related to the environment. Darling announced that, starting in 2009, a new system of taxation will aim at encouraging the production of small cars. Vehicles with large engines and old engines will have higher taxes, while companies producing environmentally-friendly cars will get tax cuts. Darling also said a planned increase on fuel taxes would not be implemented for another six months due to increasing oil prices.

Darling also warned that legislation restricting the use of plastic bags would be introduced in 2009 unless the industry makes "sufficient progress on a voluntary basis" by the end of this year. The budget also included a fund of close to $52.8 million U.S. to help households reduce their carbon emissions.

On Jul. 3, Brown suggested that a plan to impose a levy on fuel starting in October might be scrapped due to the rising price of fuel in the international market. Darling appeared to confirm the prime minister’s words when he rejected calls to scrap the used-car levy as well, saying, "I think the bigger question for motorists, frankly, is the fuel duty. That’s something you pay every week, not once a year, and that is something that we in government are very focused upon."

Polling Data

Generally speaking would you support or oppose the introduction of green taxes, designed to discourage things that are harmful to the environment?

Source: ICM Research / The Guardian
Methodology: Interviews with 1,002 British adults, conducted from Jun. 27 to Jun. 29, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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