Slamming the Fracking Door in Lancashire

There has been a widespread campaign against the unpopular, uneconomical and dangerous proposed plans to extract gas from the earth by a process of fracking.

Cuadrilla, which is chaired by Lord Browne, had been searching for shale gas in Lancashire, and had suspended operations there in 2011 after its drilling was found to be the likely cause of tremors in Blackpool. Government plans were pursued against scientific advice.

Years of campaigning from environmentalists and an emergency petition this weekend signed this weekend by 65,000 have today resulted in  Lancashire councillors rejecting these proposals.

Greenpeace UK reports  

* BREAKING! Lancashire slams door on fracking! *

This was the scene just now outside Preston town hall, as residents celebrated a hard-fought victory against fracking company Cuadrilla, whose plans to drill for shale gas were defeated by a 9-3 vote at Lancashire County Council.

This is the result of years of local campaigning and over the weekend 65,000 of us signed Today our voices were heard.

Government has signed up to the potential of shale gas after it transformed energy policy in the United States, despite severe criticism from environmentalists

A major new scientific study has concluded that the controversial gas extraction technique known as fracking poses a “significant” risk to human health and British wildlife, and that an EU-wide moratorium should be implemented until widespread regulatory reform is undertaken.

The damning report by the CHEM Trust, the British charity that investigates the harm chemicals cause humans and wildlife, highlights serious shortcomings in the UK’s regulatory regime, which the report says will only get worse as the Government makes further budget cuts.

It also warns of severe risks to human health if the new Conservative government tries to fast-track fracking of shale gas across the UK. The “scale of commercial fracking” unleashed by the Government’s eagerness to exploit the technique “should not be underestimated”, it cautions.

It is clear that the main reason this policy has been pursued has been self interest of the Conservative party. The article. “They are corrupt to the fracking core” , was published two years ago, and a number of conflicts of interest were cited. 

Conflicts of interest

Lord Browne

The former BP boss is chairman of Cuadrilla, which is exploring for shale gas in Lancashire and West Sussex. He is lead “non-executive” across Government, meaning that he helps recruit other non-executives to Whitehall.

Baroness Hogg

The non-executive for the Treasury sits on the board of BG Group, which has significant shale gas assets in the United States.

Sam Laidlaw

The non-executive to the Transport Department is also chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, which recently bought a 25 per cent stake in Cuadrilla’s most promising shale gas prospect.

Ben Moxham

A former executive at BP when Lord Browne was at the helm, he followed the peer to Riverstone Holdings, which owns 42 per cent of Cuadrilla. Moxham was energy adviser at No 10 but quit in May.

Lord Howell

George Osborne’s father-in-law is also president of the British Institute of Economics, whose backers include BP and BG Group.

 Lynton Crosby, Mr Cameron’s own aide, been linked to the fracking industry.

Opponents will continue to protest against fracking until it is shelved by this government and today’s News proves how effective these protests have been. Well done to everyone involved! The Labour opposition must demand total and permanent rejection of these proposals.

• Independent: Fracking poses significant risks to humans and should be banned
• They are corrupt to the fracking core – the coalition government
• No Fracking Way
• Greenpeace – Fracking coming to your area?