Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is used to extract gas and oil from hard-to-reach shale rock. It involves drilling a well to a depth of two to three kilometres and pumping a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals in order to generate small fractures in the shale.26 Sept 2019
So two to three kilometres Pixie…We actually live near one of the deepest coal mines in the country and its half a mile deep (around 800 metres) and they would detonate explosives at the coal face in order to dig it out. Fracking is considerably deeper at almost 2 miles.
I think people are just frightened of things going on below them, probably due to all the bad and frightening media coverage.
On the whole (no pun intended), digging a hole and some shafts off it and using localised explosives which one has a few centuries experience of in terms of likely outcome, is somewhat less problematic than injecting high pressure stuff without any full experience of medium to long term outcomes, but which does have some early indicators of problems such as earthquakes and polluting otherwise wholesome water supplies.
Add in the fact that the UK is unlikely to benefit much from the whole process. Add in the fact that we’re trying to move away from setting fire to things as a fuel option.
Currently, MPs are not set to get a vote on the government’s pledge to lift the ban on fracking in England. But Labour want to force a vote on the issue, while some Tory MPs have told the BBC they would like this too.
Some Conservatives said they believe dozens of their colleagues have raised concerns with No 10 and the prime minister about her plans to bring back fracking where there is “local consent”. Some of them have argued publicly, and others privately, that the government has not clarified how it could prove “local consent”. Others have argued that the plans go against the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to maintain the ban on fracking unless the science had changed to show it can be done safely.
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that tolerating a higher degree of risk and disturbance from fracking appears to be “in the national interest” given the desire to produce more energy domestically since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Cross-party MPs (1) who oppose fracking are looking for a parliamentary mechanism they could use to force MPs to get a formal vote on the issue - and use this to try and persuade the government to change its plans.
One idea being considered by opposition parties and Tory rebels is an amendment to future energy or planning bills - draft laws - blocking fracking from taking place, that MPs could then have the opportunity to vote for or against. If enough Tory MPs voted with the opposition parties, this could overturn the government’s majority meaning the amendment would pass.
Another option being considered is Labour tabling an opposition day debate on the issue, though some rebel Tory MPs could be less likely to vote for a Labour motion than an amendment to a government bill. While an opposition day vote would not be binding, if it was backed by enough Tory MPs it could be used to show a lack of support for fracking in Parliament.
Given the number of Tory MPs publicly - and privately - opposing fracking, some have told the BBC they feel the government may eventually see this as one fight too many after weeks of infighting within the Tory party over the government’s economic plans.
@Omah , “Yorkshire isn’t New York state”
Exactly that and UK isn’t USA either ?
We are a small over populated island with a looming water supply crisis !!
Labour has called on Tory MPs to “put country over party” and back its push for a vote on banning fracking. The party wants to use a vote in Parliament on Wednesday to force the introduction of a draft law to ban the extraction of shale gas.
Wednesday’s vote is the first parliamentary test of the government’s fracking plans, but is unlikely to be successful given the size of the Conservatives’ majority.
As it stands, the government is not expected to give MPs a vote on banning fracking. But on Wednesday, Labour will use an opposition day debate to push for such a vote in the House of Commons.
The party will put forward a motion which seeks to make time to table a bill that would ban fracking for good.
While an opposition day motion would not be binding, if it was backed by enough Tory MPs it could be used to show a lack of support for fracking in Parliament.
Tory MPs told vote on Labour’s motion on fracking being treated as confidence motion
Tory MPs have been told that they have to vote against the Labour motion on fracking this evening, Sky’s Beth Rigby reports. Craig Whittaker, deputy chief whip, has told them that the government is treating this as a confidence issue – ie, equivalent to a vote of no confidence in the government.
This is because the fracking motion is not a normal opposition day motion that simply criticises the government. The Tories often abstain on these. Instead, copying a tactic used by opponents of a no-deal Brexit in 2019, the motion would allow Labour to take control of the Commons timetable on Tuesday so that MPs could spend the day debating and voting through a ban on fracking for shale gas bill.
Many Tory MPs oppose fracking, but few, if any, approve of Keir Starmer taking control of the parliamentary timetable, and so the government should be able to win the vote comfortably. The Tories appear to have walked straight into a trap set by Labour, who will be able to say that MPs who voted for the government voted against a ban on fracking.
Three Tory MPs say they will refuse to vote to back fracking, even if that means losing whip
Chris Skidmore, a leading member of the Conservative Environment Network, said he was willing to face the consequences of his actions - which could mean losing the Conservative whip. He said:
As the former energy minister who signed net sero into law, for the sake of our environment and climate, I cannot personally vote tonight to support fracking and undermine the pledges I made at the 2019 general election. I am prepared to face the consequences of my decision.
The Tory former minister Tracey Crouch echoed his statement.
Conservative MPs were bullied and manhandled into backing Liz Truss in a vote on fracking, according to MPs who witnessed the scenes. One furious Tory MP described the chaotic events as a “shambles and a disgrace”. Visibly shaken, senior Conservative MP Charles Walker said what he saw as “inexcusable” and there was “no coming back” for the government.
Cabinet ministers deny claims they used physical force to persuade colleagues to vote with the government. But Labour’s Chris Bryant called for an investigation into what “looked like bullying to me”.
Meanwhile, Tory MPs told the BBC that chief whip Wendy Morton, and the deputy chief whip, are no longer in post.
Tory whips ordered their MPs to vote against the motion or face being suspended, telling them it was test of confidence in Ms Truss. But the process was thrown into confusion at the last minute when climate minister Graham Stuart suggested it was not a confidence vote.
Chaotic scenes in the voting lobby followed, as whips tried to get Tory MPs to oppose the Labour motion.
The government won the vote by 326 votes to 230 - a government majority of 96.
The division list on the Parliament’s website showed 40 Conservative MPs did not take part, including Ms Truss and Chief Whip Wendy Morton.
Speaking to Sky News, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, played down allegations made by Labour MP Chris Bryant that some Conservative MPs shouted at and “manhandled” others in the voting lobbies to get them to vote with the government. He said he did not see any bullying or physical contact “beyond a female affectionately patting someone on the back” - though “one member used an expletive”.
Describing the chaotic scenes, Mr Bryant told Sky News that one Conservative MP, Alexander Stafford, was “manhandled” and “bullied”. He said: “There was a bunch of Conservative members who were completely uncertain about whether they were allowed to vote with the Labour motion because of what had been said in the chamber about whether it’s a free vote or a confidence vote. There was a group - including several cabinet ministers - who were basically shouting at them. At least one member was physically pulled through the door into the voting lobby.” He claimed Jacob Rees-Mogg and Theresa Coffey, the deputy prime minister, were among the group that “moved forward with that one member” into the voting lobby.
A source close to deputy PM Therese Coffey has told Sky News she has “not manhandled anybody”.
Several MPs claimed to have witnessed chaotic scenes ahead of the vote.
Labour frontbencher Ian Murray said: “I’ve never seen scenes like it at the entrance to a voting lobby. Tories on open warfare. Jostling and Rees Mogg shouting at his colleagues. Whips screaming at Tories. They are done and should call a general election. Two Tory whips dragging people in. Shocking.”
Fellow Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle added: “Just seen Tory whips manhandling a crying Tory MP into their lobby for fracking. You couldn’t make this toxic stuff up, nasty to see the Tories at work, if this is how they treat their MPs spare a thought for the country.”
And Jess Philips said: “Massive Tory row going on in the lobby, literally trying to force people through. Lots of anger.”
The vote, on a Labour motion that would have set in place a future decision on potentially banning fracking in England, had been billed in advance as a confidence motion, meaning Tories who did not back it could be stripped of the party whip and forced to sit as independent MPs.
After a series of MPs said they would rebel nonetheless, including Chris Skidmore, the former minister who heads up Truss’s review into net zero policies, the climate minister, Graham Stuart, told the Commons: “Quite clearly this is not a confidence vote.”
But in yet another apparent policy reverse in recent days, a No 10 statement on Thursday morning said Stuart had been incorrectly informed about this, and confirmed that the whips remained in place.
“The prime minister has full confidence in the chief and deputy chief whip,” the statement said. “Throughout the day, the whips had treated the vote as a confidence motion. The minister at the dispatch box was told, mistakenly, by Downing Street to say that it was not.
“However, Conservative MPs were fully aware that the vote was subject to a three-line whip. The whips will now be speaking to Conservative MPs who failed to support the government. Those without a reasonable excuse for failing to vote with the government can expect proportionate disciplinary action.”
In total, 40 Tory MPs did not vote with the government, although none voted with Labour, meaning the government defeated the Labour motion by 326 votes to 230. Some of these would have had permission to be away, and some seemingly did not have their votes properly recorded. But it leaves open the prospect of a large number of MPs being reprimanded or losing the whip.
Downing Street did not respond to questions as to what form the disciplinary action will take.
Some Tory MPs may regard disciplinary action from Liz Truss as a badge of honour …
