The role of political attention in moderating the association between political identities and anthropogenic climate change belief in Britain
The role of political attention in moderating the association between political identities and anthropogenic climate change belief in Britain
US research shows that the partisan divide among elites on climate change has been mirrored by division at the citizen level, with this division being especially prominent among more politically engaged citizens. Using British Election Study data from 2016, this article examines whether a similar phenomenon is occurring in Britain, a country that experienced an increase in climate sceptic media coverage in the aftermath of the passing of the 2008 Climate Change Act. The results show that UK Independence Party and Conservative Party partisans as well as Leavers who pay more attention to politics are less likely to believe in the existence of anthropogenic climate change in contrast to Labour Party partisans and Remainers where increased political attention is associated with greater belief. These findings point to the inherent difficulties of bringing public beliefs on climate change in line with the scientific consensus in the presence of divided elite cues.
Beliefs, Britain, Climate change, Elite cues, Partisanship
1-23
Kenny, John
db32975a-c617-4d10-9564-b94c32942f3d
Kenny, John
db32975a-c617-4d10-9564-b94c32942f3d
Kenny, John
(2020)
The role of political attention in moderating the association between political identities and anthropogenic climate change belief in Britain.
Political Studies, .
(doi:10.1177/0032321720928261).
Abstract
US research shows that the partisan divide among elites on climate change has been mirrored by division at the citizen level, with this division being especially prominent among more politically engaged citizens. Using British Election Study data from 2016, this article examines whether a similar phenomenon is occurring in Britain, a country that experienced an increase in climate sceptic media coverage in the aftermath of the passing of the 2008 Climate Change Act. The results show that UK Independence Party and Conservative Party partisans as well as Leavers who pay more attention to politics are less likely to believe in the existence of anthropogenic climate change in contrast to Labour Party partisans and Remainers where increased political attention is associated with greater belief. These findings point to the inherent difficulties of bringing public beliefs on climate change in line with the scientific consensus in the presence of divided elite cues.
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Kenny_Political Studies
- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 27 April 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 June 2020
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© The Author(s) 2020.
Keywords:
Beliefs, Britain, Climate change, Elite cues, Partisanship
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Local EPrints ID: 441673
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/441673
ISSN: 0032-3217
PURE UUID: 8b7b3790-ee99-41cf-96d6-9e34be25b9e3
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Date deposited: 23 Jun 2020 16:56
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 08:15
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Author:
John Kenny
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