August 13: Time to face fracking facts

IT IS a source of regret that the Government did not heed the wisdom of Dwight D Eisenhower, the former President of the United States, before signalling a desire to circumvent existing protocols so it is easier for energy firms to frack for shale gas.

President Eisenhower’s adage, albeit in a military context, was “plans are nothing; planning is everything” – a mantra which is critical to Energy Secretary Amber Rudd being able to convince sufficient residents that her proposals are in the national interest.

She faces a tough task. Not only does this announcement suggest that the Government is prepared to ride roughshod over those countryside communities that find themselves on fracking’s front line, but it is also a clear contradiction of Tory policy on localism.

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A key test of the Minister’s framework is whether it will reassure those residents of Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire who have become such vocal critics of the fracking plans put forward by Third Energy – and the answer is a resounding no. As the continuing correspondence on the opinion and letters pages of The Yorkshire Post demonstrates, there has been a breakdown of trust between both parties and it is difficult to envisage this state of affairs being reconciled without the need for a protracted public inquiry.

If the Minister had actually thought about the Eisenhower doctrine, she would have realised that the Government will only have a chance of winning the argument on fracking if it encourages a constructive dialogue so local residents do not feel that they are being pushed or manipulated.

After all, it is the residents of Kirby Misperton, and elsewhere, who will have to live with the consequences of Ms Rudd’s strategy, hence the need for the Minister to start considering the issue from their perspective before it is too late.

Back on track?

THE respected economist Jim O’Neill, the Treasury minister now responsible for implementing George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse vision, makes a persuasive case on the opposite page over the Government’s commitment to the upgrading of Yorkshire’s road and rail infrastructure. It would be churlish not to acknowledge the progress that is being made, albeit slowly, and the wider political recognition that the North has been the poor relation for too long when it comes to transport investment.

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Yet, while Ministers were duty-bound to intervene over the financial mismanagement at Network Rail and put in measures to ensure that taxpayers receive far greater value for money, the situation has been very poorly handled. As a number of documents have demonstrated, Ministers did know prior to the election that the much-vaunted £38bn rail investment programme would have to be put on hold - but they chose not to be totally transparent with travellers about the likely impact on the electrification of the TransPennine Express and Midland Mainline routes.

Lord O’Neill’s words, in response to this newspaper’s Back On Track campaign, are encouraging – just like those pre-election promises – but there are no guarantees. As such, it is up to business leaders, politicians and travellers to maintain the public pressure so the economic case for the TransPennine Express and Midland Mainline upgrades is so compelling that it cannot be refused by Ministers once Sir Peter Hendy, the newly-appointed Network Rail chairman, has completed his review this autumn.

A is for attainment

THE FUTURE prospects of students will become much clearer this morning when they open their A-level results and learn whether they can continue their academic studies at their university of choice. It should also be a time when all those young people who have met, or surpassed, their expectations can celebrate their coming of age without pontificating politicians, or armchair critics, pouring cold water on their efforts.

For, as the successful students will be the first to acknowledge, they could not have achieved such success without the unstinting support of their family – even if they did not always appreciate this while cramming for exams – and the expertise of those teachers who continue to inspire because of their ability to make lessons as engaging, and enjoyable, as possible.

Given this, today’s 
results are another reminder that education is a three-way partnership between pupils, parents and teachers alike.