Fracking will in effect remain banned under Rishi Sunak’s government, his spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday, saying the new prime minister was committed to the policy in the 2019 manifesto.
The confirmation came after the prime minister told the Commons that he “stands by” the manifesto, which put a moratorium on shale gas extraction.
The decision is another rebuff to policies launched under Liz Truss, as well as full rewriting of her fiscal plans. Under Truss’s short-lived government, she lifted the moratorium amid significant divisions in the parliamentary party.
A significant number of MPs, including in the cabinet, have spoken out against fracking, including the chancellor Jeremy Hunt who said in June that it would create “enormous disruption and environmental damage for little if any economic benefit”.
The 2019 manifesto commitment said the ban would be in place until there was new scientific evidence about the safety of fracking. It reads: “We placed a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect. Having listened to local communities, we have ruled out changes to the planning system. We will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely.”
Sunak made the commitment in response to a question by the Green MP Caroline Lucas, who said: “Yesterday, he promised to fix her 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?”
Sunak 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.”
On the night before Truss resigned from No 10, a crunch Commons vote on fracking propelled by a Labour motion descended into mayhem after more than 40 Conservative MPs failed to back the government and were left in limbo about whether it had been a confidence vote. Tempers were so fraught that MPs alleged ministers physically pulled some wavering Tories into the voting lobbies.
Chris Skidmore, a leading voice of green Conservatives who had been leading the government’s net zero review, said earlier he was willing to “face the consequences of my decision” to not back the government, even if this meant losing the whip.
Labour said the moratorium still opened the door to potential changes of policy, whereas it had pledged a permanent ban. Ed Miliband, the shadow climate and net zero secretary, said: “Last week Rishi Sunak voted against Labour’s fracking ban but this week his spokespeople tell us he is in favour of the temporary moratorium on fracking in the Conservative manifesto.
“Whatever their latest position, the truth is that the Tories have shown they cannot be trusted on the issue of fracking. The only way to guarantee fracking will be banned for good is to elect a Labour government.”
The move from Sunak was also welcomed by the Conservative Environment Network, which has about 150 MPs and has campaigned on fracking and net zero. Its director, Sam Hall, said fracking was unpopular, and “few communities would approve fracking projects locally, meaning little or no gas would be extracted, despite the high political cost”.
Craig Bennett, the chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said: “This is a welcome early sign from the new prime minister. The suggestion that fracking could do anything to help reduce energy bills or deliver energy security in the UK always was a lie. It was promoted primarily because it made the UK more like the US than the EU, and that suited certain ideologues.”
