A Brighton MP has secured the new prime minister’s first promise that the UK fracking ban will return.
Rishi Sunak told Brighton Pavilion MP he “stands by” the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto and insisted his Government will deliver on what was agreed at the UN Cop26 Glasgow climate talks.
The moratorium, which had been lifted by former prime minister Liz Truss, was subsequently confirmed by a Downing Street spokesman.
At today’s Prime Minister’s Questions Ms Lucas said: “Yesterday, he (Rishi Sunak) promised to fix her (Liz Truss) mistakes as well as to uphold the party’s 2019 manifesto.
“So, if he is a man of his word, will he start by reversing the green light she gave to fracking since it’s categorically not been shown to be safe, and instead maintain the moratorium that was pledged in that very manifesto that he promised to uphold?”
The Prime Minister replied: “I have already said I stand by the manifesto on that. But what I would say is that I’m proud that this Government has passed the landmark Environment Act, putting more protections for the natural environment than we have ever had with a clear plan to deliver.
“And I can give the honourable lady my commitment that we will deliver on all those ambitions. We will deliver on what we said at Cop (Cop26) because we care deeply about passing our children an environment in a better state than we found it ourselves.”
Ms Lucas is a longstanding opponent of fracking, and in 2013 she was arrested during an anti-fracking protest at Balcombe. She was found not guilty of wilful obstruction at a trial the following year.
” since it’s categorically not been shown to be safe,” = ? not true and indeed safe enough to allow fracking take place.
And indeed if one looks carefully at the current PM’s answer, nowhere does it state that fracking will banned.