Valerie opposes fracking in Lancashire

On 31 October 2018 there was a vital Westmister Hall Debate on Local Involvement in Shale Development.

The Government’s decision to allow fracking in Lancashire from 15 October 2018 overrode both Lancashire County Council’s rejection of the fracking site and the opposition of local people. Rather than making changes that will further undermine local decision-making, the Government should give planning authorities the powers they need to respond to the needs of their communities.

I am alarmed the three earthquakes that have already taken place since the firm Cuadrilla started fracking. The firm has had to cease drilling on each occasion. Fracking is not an alternative to genuinely sustainable solutions and goes against the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which demonstrated the need for radical change.

Instead the production of shale gas would lock the UK into high-carbon energy infrastructure, increase local air pollution and do little for the UK’s energy security. The Government should not be promoting it at any cost. Instead, it should join France, Germany and other countries in banning it.

The Government’s record on green energy is appalling. From its neglect of the Swansea Lagoon Tidal Bay project to the planned closure of the Feed-in-Tariff scheme for solar energy, the Government has consistently failed to put the needs of local people, local environment and our climate first.