Ed Miliband has vowed to “ban fracking” for good, as he drew yet another dividing line with Reform during his speech at the Labour Party conference.
The energy secretary promised to “send this bunch of frackers packing”, after Richard Tice and Nigel Farage of Reform UK both backed the method for retrieving underground shale gas as a way to boost the economy.
Hydraulic fracking has been suspended since a pause – a moratorium – was introduced in 2019, following concerns over minor earthquakes and public anger.
Its unpopularity with the British public has not budged since then, with twice as many people still opposing it as supporting it, according to YouGov polling.
Liz Truss did temporarily lift the moratorium during her time as prime minister in 2022, but it was quickly reinstated by her successor, Rishi Sunak.
Mr Miliband said in his speech: “Fracking will not take a penny off bills. It will not create long-term sustainable jobs.
“It will trash our climate commitments. And it is dangerous and deeply harmful to our natural environment.”
He added: “Let’s ban fracking and vow to send this bunch of frackers packing too.”
The move was welcomed by climate campaigners.
Asad Rehmen, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said: “By providing a clear vision for our energy future based on helping people, not on ignoring the science, the energy secretary has sent an important message that the government is listening to communities.”
But they urged the government to close a loophole which, in theory, allows fracking of small volumes of gas via a method called “proppant squeeze”.
…
