Labour is calling on Tory MPs to seize an opportunity to end fracking “once and for all” by backing a move to pave the way for a vote on the issue.
The party will use an opposition day debate on Wednesday to put forward a motion which, if passed, would guarantee time in the Commons for a bill to ban the controversial gas extraction technique for good.
Fracking involves injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks and boreholes to force open existing cracks and extract oil or gas.
In one of her first controversial acts as prime minister, Liz Truss overturned a manifesto pledge to pause it until it is proved safe.
The moratorium had been in place since 2019 following a series of earth tremors.
A Labour source said Tory MPs are “privately terrified that fracking is unpopular in their constituencies”.
The source added: “Do they follow Liz Truss and her collapsing leadership into yet another disastrous decision, or do they stand against her in the best interests of the British people?”
The government has insisted that future fracking applications will be considered where there is local support, although it is not clear how that will be measured.
Previous fracking attempts have faced significant public opposition.
Ms Truss lifted the ban as part of her long-term strategy to boost energy security, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, Labour says that shale gas extracted by fracking would make no difference to soaring gas prices, and is a more expensive alternative to renewables, which it says are nine times cheaper than gas.
Conservative MPs ‘face a simple choice’
Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate secretary, said Conservative MPs face a “simple choice” on Wednesday: “Do they break the manifesto commitments they made to their constituents and allow the government to impose expensive, unsafe fracking on communities that do not want it, or will they support Labour’s ban on fracking once and for all?”
He called fracking an “unjust charter for earthquakes”, adding: “Fracking would make no difference to energy prices, and would risk the health of local communities, nature, and water supplies.
“Every Conservative MP who opposes fracking must now put country over party and support Labour’s ban on fracking.”
The 2019 Conservative manifesto pledged not to lift England’s moratorium unless “the science shows categorically it can be done safely”.
A government-commissioned report by the British Geological Survey (BGS) at the time suggested more data was needed, but despite the lack of scientific progress, Ms Truss’s administration has torn up the commitment.
While an opposition day vote would not be binding, it could put further pressure on Ms Truss to backtrack if enough Tory MPs voted for it.
The prime minister is already battling to save her job after being forced into a raft of humiliating U-turns over her mini-budget, during a torrid week in Westminster.
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‘Zombie industry’
Green campaigners added to the calls to ban fracking on Tuesday night. Jamie Peters, from Friends of the Earth, said the decision to reverse the fracking ban was “rash” and “ill-thought through”.
“Why revive a zombie industry like fracking when we could be rolling out the measures that will actually lower our energy bills and cut harmful carbon emissions, such as insulating the UK’s heat-leaking homes and investing in cheap and popular renewables?”, he said.
“This would genuinely support our energy security and is much quicker and cheaper to deliver.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “In light of (Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and weaponisation of energy, the government is taking steps to increase home-grown sources of energy, reduce the UK’s reliance of foreign imports and explore all possible options to boost domestic energy security.
“The government has lifted the moratorium on UK shale gas production, enabling developers to seek planning permission where there is local support.”
