The moratorium on fracking was imposed in 2019 after fracking in the UK proved to be a disaster: 

• It was a disaster for local democracy, as residents’ and Councils’ strong opposition to fracking sites was ignored.  
• It was a disaster for the environment, as our green and pleasant land was dug up and tremors were triggered.  
• And despite the Government sidestepping these two significant areas of concern, it was a disaster for the fracking companies, which over several years had only managed to frack two sites, both of which were aborted due to tremors. 

It has been clear to me for years that fracking is a terrible idea, not least because it would transition us from burning one fossil fuel to another, instead of transitioning to renewables.  Between 2019 and 2022, even the Conservative Government agreed that fracking should not be part of the UK’s energy policy.  

However, following her successful leadership campaign to become our new Prime Minister, which was partly funded by pro-oil and pro-fracking groups, Liz Truss decided to break the 2019 Conservative manifesto pledge and lift the moratorium on fracking. 

I have written to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and asked them to stick to the manifesto pledge that they were elected on and keep the moratorium on fracking in place.  I have posted copies of these letters below for you to see.

I can assure you that I will continue to oppose the reintroduction of fracking at every opportunity.