Reform UK have pledged to bring back fracking, a destructive policy for our community which must once again be opposed.
Over the past decade I have been proud to champion the people of Lancashire in their fight against fracking. Now, our hard-earned wins are under threat again. Like Liz Truss, Nigel Farage is pushing for the destruction of people’s homes, livelihoods and future. Truss failed in 2022, and we must make sure Farage fails too.
Not only would fracking be damaging to our local area with a high risk of earthquakes causing alarm for communities and house prices to freefall, it would be irreversibly damaging to our climate. What we need is bold climate action, not reactionary backsliding.
Lancashire would be more detrimentally impacted than many other areas of the country. Of the four areas of the country that the British Geological Survey (BGS) has identified as having potential shale gas underground, the largest spans Lancashire and the West Midlands. Farage’s echoing of Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” slogan is beyond irresponsible. It is an active threat to us here in Lancashire.
We secured a ban on fracking for good reason. In 2019, there was a 2.9 Magnitude earthquake tremor recorded near the Cuadrilla Preston New Road fracking site. Along with years of sustained activism, this helped to convince even the Conservatives of what we had been telling them for years was true – fracking is harmful and must be banned.
Lancashire has already spoken: we do not want fracking. Communities across our county, particularly those on the Fylde Coast, have lived through the earth tremors, the disruption and the broken promises, and they should not be asked to endure them again. Reform UK’s call to bring fracking back shows how out of touch they are with the people who actually live here.
Fracking would not bring energy bills down or ensure energy security. It is clear that, yet again, Reform is pledging to put the interests and profits of fossil fuel companies first, while putting the needs of current and future generations last.
Fracking is unsafe, unwanted, and expensive. Chasing after it is nothing more than a distraction from the real solutions to our energy needs. Reform’s announcement is a smokescreen for incompetence, and it’s increasingly clear day by day that they have no plans within their reactionary and unfunded policies to fix yeas of destruction to the country under the Conservatives.
Instead of trying to drill under our homes and farmland, Labour are investing in clean, affordable solar and wind energy on homes, hospitals and schools which cuts bills, creates new jobs, puts money back into services, and tackles the climate crisis.
Lancashire deserves better than to be treated as an experiment for a failed industry. Our future lies in renewable energy, not a return to fracking.