Attitudinal Backlash Against the Green Transition: Evidence from the UK Coal Phase-Out

Stringent climate policies are increasingly becoming indispensable for mitigating climate change; yet their political feasibility represents a significant challenge. While past research has substantially advanced our understanding of the electoral backlash against climate policy, little is known about how enacting far-reaching climate and energy transition policies affects individual political attitudes that, for one, are fundamental for political legitimacy and system support, but whose absence constitutes a crucial driver of far-right party support. Thus, this study asks how the introduction of far-reaching energy transition policies affects political trust, external efficacy, and satisfaction with democracy. Leveraging British panel data, I empirically analyze the attitudinal and behavioral backlash following the coal phase-out in the United Kingdom. By employing a series of staggered difference-in-differences models and matching techniques, I examine whether the closure of coal-fired power plants from 2015 to 2024 affected diffuse and specific support for democracy, and how it affected voting behavior. The results have central implications for our understanding of effective government-induced climate action and democratic legitimacy during the green transition.