In his first Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak, committed to restoring the moratorium on shale gas fracking in England – a move welcomed by Penrith and The Border MP, Dr Neil Hudson, who was elected on an anti-fracking manifesto and has consistently opposed the practice.
Mr Sunak’s predecessor announced her decision to lift the ban on the controversial process in September which was vigorously opposed by many Conservative MP’s including Dr Hudson. However, listening to concerns from his parliamentary colleagues, Mr Sunak stated publicly he would stand by the manifesto on fracking “because we care deeply about passing on to our children an environment that is in a better state than we found it ourselves.”
Dr Hudson and other Conservative politicians have voiced their opposition to the practice on the ground it has been linked to tremors and geological instability as well as the environmental implications of this practice.
Speaking after the announcement, Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border said:
“It’s immensely encouraging that in his first Prime Minister’s Questions session he committed to standing by the Conservative manifesto that I was elected on and reinstated the moratorium on fracking. I maintain that fracking is retrograde and environmentally damaging and I will continue to firmly oppose it.
“It is clear we face a significant energy security crisis brought forward by the war in Ukraine and need to secure new sources domestically and from trusted allies. However, I firmly believe that fracking is not the answer.
"Instead, I welcome the sections of the Government’s Energy Security Strategy that plan to accelerate cleaner, more affordable domestically-produced energy such as wind, solar and nuclear. These are critical long-term steps to reduce energy bills and secure our long-term energy independence and prosperity, so we are never again held to ransom by undemocratic and unscrupulous foreign regimes.”
