Thank you for contacting me following the frankly disgraceful announcement that our latest Tory Prime Minister will allow new fracking licenses across England. This is a clear step backwards and one that I have passionately campaigned against for many years. I simply do not believe this reflects a serious approach to the national interest, our energy security or, obviously, our efforts to tackle climate change.

Fracking is a false answer to our national energy needs. It is an outdated, dangerous and expensive way to produce energy that will not provide the clean, secure energy our country needs. Fracking is damaging for our environment and does not create good long term jobs.

This is a view not only shared by myself, but the current Chancellor Kwasi Kwartend who agreed fracking was a poor solution only earlier this year. He highlighted how it would take a decade before we see any yield from new projects and it would come at a high cost for communities. 

We urgently need the Prime Minister to do the right thing and introduce a windfall tax on the oil and gas giants who are making £170 billion in excess profits this year alone. Every penny her Government refuses to raise in windfall taxes is money that they will be loading onto the British people for years to come. To suggest fracking would in any way contribute to a financial solution to this crisis is farcical. 

It could not be clearer that this decision has not been made for practical reasons, but is a cynical attempt by a new Prime Minister to deflect responsibility from the vulnerable state our energy supply is in. More than a decade of under-investment and blocking of renewables, a failure to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and gas and the closure of natural gas storage in England have left this country extremely vulnerable to shocks on the international market, which is what we experienced after Covid and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

This is not an act of a serious Prime Minister who cares about tackling the cost of living crisis or the future of our environment. 

Fracking is part of the wider issue at the heart of this Tory Government who time and again have failed to appreciate the scale of the global warming crisis. For too long climate change has been viewed as tomorrow’s problem – an issue that will affect future generations. 

Britain urgently needs to tackle the causes of climate change and invest in real renewable solutions to our energy supply, rather than simply finding more ways to extract dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.

We need to ensure this crisis isn’t reproduced, therefore I believe we need fundamental reform of our energy system. We must unleash the potential of British businesses and entrepreneurs so we can lead the world in new, renewable industries. Labour would seize the opportunities of the climate transition to create well-paid, secure jobs in all parts of the country. 

Likewise, it is imperative that we reduce our reliance on imported gas by accelerating home-grown renewables and new nuclear energy. By making sure 19 million homes are warm and well-insulated, saving households an average of £400 a year on their bills. Finally, we must regulate the market better, with a pledge to never again let energy companies play fast and loose with the rules.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue. I can assure you that I will continue to oppose fracking and support calls to accelerate efforts on energy efficiency and homegrown renewables.

To show your opposition to fracking please sign my petition below.