Research shows the public is supporting moves to make it a legal requirement for governments to consider future generations in policy-making, according to a new report.

A survey of 1,000 adults found that more than two out of three wanted the Government to do more to plan and prepare for long-term threats.

Lord John Bird, founder of The Big Issue issue magazine, said the polling backed his Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill, which is going through Parliament.

He said if passed into law, it would help the Government in preventing problems, including the climate crisis, poverty and pandemics from happening, as well as dealing with emergencies.

We now have hard evidence that the public are crying out for there to be long-term thinking embedded in UK policy making.

Most of those surveyed said they wanted to see reforms to the political system to ensure that lessons are learned from Covid-19 as well as greater accountability of ministers.

The Bill, which has passed its second reading in the Lords, is being supported by MPs from several political parties.

The Bill seeks to embed long-termism, prevention, and the interests of future generations at the heart of UK policy-making.

It will require the Government to work to prevent problems from happening and give current and future generations a voice in decision-making and protect them from global threats.

Lord Bird, said: “We now have hard evidence that the public are crying out for there to be long-term thinking embedded in UK policy-making.

“The Bill will put an end to short-term policies, which only serve to bite us back later.”