A TORY MP has suggested “the northern reaches of Scotland” as a site that could be appropriate for fracking, while dismissing the possibility of it happening in her own constituency.
Laura Farris, MP for Newbury, was on the BBC’s Politics Live on Wednesday while discussing Liz Truss’s proposal to allow fracking in areas where there is “community consent” – a scheme which the PM has failed to provide details for.
While refusing to entertain the prospect of it happening in her own constituency, Farris said it was not “unreasonable” that, while the UK was looking to bolster its energy security, “we should at least explore whether there is more potential in shale gas”.
After claiming she wouldn’t support fracking where communities were opposed, Farris acknowledged her position raised the question: “Well, where is it going to happen?”.
NIMBY @Laura__Farris but fracking is ok in remote parts of Scotland 🤡#PoliticsLive pic.twitter.com/sS2NNVwwEb
— John Menzies (@jambojm) October 12, 2022
Farris answered that it wouldn’t happen in densely populated areas but didn’t rule it out completely.
She said: “I don’t know whether there are parts of the northern reaches of Scotland where there would be appropriate sites and I wouldn’t discourage it if there were”.
Despite Farris’s suggestion, fracking is a devolved matter so the granting of licences to drill for shale gas in Scotland is left to Holyrood.
However, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Energy Minister Michael Matheson have repeatedly affirmed the Scottish Government’s opposition to the practice.
After Liz Truss lifted a ban on fracking in England in September, Sturgeon said: “We do not intend to grant licences for fracking, we do not think that is the solution to the crisis that is currently faced.
“In fact, let me quote someone else: ‘No amount of shale gas would be enough to lower the European price.’
“That is of course, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer speaking earlier this year.”
SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Drew Hendry said Farris's comments were "arrogant and outrageous".
He added: "Northern Scotland is not an experimental ground for the Tories' dangerous obsessions.
“Thankfully, Liz Truss’s reckless decision to end the fracking ban in England doesn’t apply north of the Border, with the First Minister making clear that the Scottish Government will not be issuing licences for fracking.
“Our position is firm and unchanged. Fracking isn’t wanted or needed in an area already rich in clean and renewable energies."
Scottish Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands, Ariane Burgess, said: “It might come as a surprise to Conservative MPs that northern Scotland is not just a testing ground for their discredited, environmentally destructive policies.
"It’s an area of thriving communities and world-renowned environments - communities who oppose fracking just like they do in Laura Farris's constituency and all across the UK. It's deeply concerning that someone who votes on national legislation impacting the whole country doesn't seem to realise this.
“Fracking is expensive, dangerous, and does nothing to lower household bills. That’s why it’s banned in Scotland and that’s why with Greens in government it will remain banned. Scotland will rightly focus on developing our place as a world leader in renewable energy."
