I’m actually shocked. Britain is usually considered a nation on the forefront of the global warming alarmism, pushing for economy-killing restrictions at climate change meetings across the globe. The United Kingdom signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol, while its leaders are consistently preaching about carbon emissions and saving the planet.

And yet here we are. The Times of London decided to actually poll British voters on the question of man-made global warming, which I assume doesn’t happen often across the pond. Result? A majority of said voters don’t believe human activity is causing the earth to warm. They’re not buying what their leaders, and alarmists like Al Gore and his Hollywood buddies, are selling.

Less than half the population believes that human activity is to blame for global warming, according to an exclusive poll for The Times.

The revelation that ministers have failed in their campaign to persuade the public that the greenhouse effect is a serious threat requiring urgent action will make uncomfortable reading for the Government as it prepares for next month’s climate change summit in Copenhagen.

Only 41 per cent accept as an established scientific fact that global warming is taking place and is largely man-made. Almost a third (32 per cent) believe that the link is not yet proved; 8 per cent say that it is environmentalist propaganda to blame man and 15 per cent say that the world is not warming.

This might help explain why conservatives are set to sweep to victory in next year’s elections. While it may not be a major issue with the economy in the state that it is, the poll finds that none of the political parties have a majority of members believing in man-made global warming. Just 47% of Liberal Democrats in Great Britain believe what Al Gore’s shoveling. The figure is 45% for Labour members and just 38% for Conservatives.

What’s the top issue for voters in the United Kingdom? Not a potentially warming planet. It’s the economy. The fact that Britain’s leaders are pushing for economy-killing proposals at Copenhagen, in the name of environmentalism, can’t help their cause at the ballot box.

Maybe it’s time for politicians everywhere to figure out what their constituents are really concerned about.