Calls to resume fracking 'devoid of reality and practical knowledge', says Tory MP Alexander Stafford

The Rother Valley MP, whose constituency has two sites where fracking has been proposed, wrote in The Times that fracking will have no impact on British gas bills and the Government should instead be looking to reduce demand for gas by focusing on schemes to make homes more energy efficient.

Mr Stafford's comments follow Parliamentary colleagues in the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Conservative MPs making repeated calls in recent months for the current moratorium on fracking to be removed. They argue the move would boost the nation's energy security.

The Rother Valley MP said: "There is a term in politics called 'wishful briefing', where some politicians, media, and others engage in briefing practices in the hope that they can 'will' something into existence. This is where we are with the lifting of the moratorium on fracking.

"Some of what I have read strikes me as a small group of people hoping to will fracking back to life, but without any idea about what it really involves, if it is workable, and crucially, whether the government will go for it."

He said commentators arguing fracking will solve the nation's energy issues are not being straight with the public.

"They say there are trillions of pounds just waiting to be exhumed from England’s green and pleasant land saving us from the tyranny of Putin’s pipeline," he said.

"The stark truth is that these are siren songs devoid of reality and of practical knowledge. If we were to listen to them, we would be on a path that will continue to keep people locked in to ever skyrocketing gas bills, making people poorer."

Mr Stafford said reintroducing fracking "will have no impact at all on the price that any of us pay to heat our homes".

He said: "Gas is an internationally traded commodity; indeed we are a large exporter of gas. The answer to solving surging gas prices is not seeking to increase supply but instead looking at how we can reduce demand."

Mr Stafford said the Government must design a new scheme for making properties more energy efficient.

He said: "Those decrying the cost of net zero are failing to wake up to the cost of not doing net zero. Heat pumps will be on average £260 a year cheaper than gas boilers from April this year.

"Renewables under the contracts for difference scheme are generating cheaper power, paying millions back, and subsidising the extortionate cost of gas — gas subsidies, if you will."

He said energy independence can be achieved through "more renewables, more nuclear, and more energy efficiency".

Fracking was supported by previous Prime Minister Theresa May who insisted such work would be both safe and financially beneficial to residents living close to planned sites in Yorkshire which had been the subject of mass opposition.

Seven companies had Government licences to explore large parts of Yorkshire to see if fracking was feasible. The technique has not been used in the UK since 2011 after it was deemed to have been the cause of earth tremors in Lancashire.

In November 2019, Boris Johnson placed a moratorium on fracking going ahead in England following a report by the Oil and Gas Authority which found it was not currently possible to accurately predict the probability or magnitude of earthquakes linked to fracking operations.

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