Cameron's green tax on air travel a massive vote loser

In the first test of public reaction to his plan to penalise frequent flyers, voters have delivered a critical verdict.

The exclusive BPIX survey for The Mail on Sunday reveals that two in three people - 66 per cent - believe the new levies on flying will do nothing to reduce the number of flights people take but will simply increase the overall tax burden.

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Only 14 per cent agree with the Conservative leader that extra taxation is essential to curb the growth of air travel and cut the amount of greenhouse gases it produces.

The survey contains another uncomfortable message for Mr Cameron. More than six out of ten people say increased aviation taxation is unfair because it will hit ordinary families going on holiday while the rich would still be able to travel abroad as often as they like.

Just one in five - 20 per cent - believe the extra tax is necessary to encourage people to change their polluting habits.

Mr Cameron's controversial proposals, unveiled last week, included a system of 'green air miles' which would give passengers a quota of cheap travel equivalent to a return flight to Malaga in southern Spain. Beyond that, they would have to pay extra duty to the Treasury.

But today's survey shows that people believe the limit is too draconian. More than one in three say any quota should be more generous.

The poll also illustrates how much the cost of flying would have to increase before people would change their behaviour. If the cost of a flight went up by £10, just five per cent of people say they would reduce the number of journeys they make by air.

Similarly, few travellers would reduce their flights if they went up by £20 or £30. It is only when a £50 premium is put on the cost of air tickets that a significant number of people - 48 per cent - say they would cut back.

But even if the price of flying went up by £100 a ticket, one in five say they would carry on just as before.

These findings lend weight to the popular suspicion that new air taxes would be a money-spinner for the Treasury but have little impact on the growth of flying and the carbon-dioxide emissions created by the industry.

However, the negative reaction to Mr Cameron's latest policies has done little to dim voters' overall enthusiasm for his party. The 40-year-old Conservative leader remains well in the lead against Gordon Brown, who is expected to succeed Tony Blair in the summer.

A total of 38 per cent would vote for Mr Cameron in a General Election, putting him seven percentage points ahead of Mr Brown on 31 per cent. Sir Ming Campbell's Liberal Democrats are languishing on 14 per cent.

And Mr Cameron's enthusiasm for environmental issues has won general approval. Overall, the Conservatives are considered to have the better policies on climate change - 19 per cent compared to Labour on 17 per cent.

But the environment is far from top of voters' lists of concerns. Crime, immigration, the NHS and schools are all regarded as more important.

Even so, there is support for another Conservative idea to give tax incentives to property-owners who improve the energy efficiency of their homes with double-glazing or better insulation.

* Meanwhile, in an attack on Labour's handling of the health service - traditionally seen as one of its strengths - David Cameron will claim today that Tony Blair has 'ripped the heart out of our NHS'. In his keynote speech to the Conservative spring conference in Nottingham, in which he will repeat the Tory pledge to scrap most of Labour's tight targets, the Tory leader will insist his party is now the natural ally of doctors and nurses.

*BPIX surveyed 1,907 people between March 15 and 17. Data is weighted to reflect the profile of the population.