Photo: Frack Free United
Two anti-fracking campaign groups have joined forces to try to put shale gas on the agenda for the general election.
Frack Free United and Cross Party Frack Free said today they had pooled resources to try to encourage tactical voting and highlight the policies of election candidates and the parties on fracking.
Frack Free United is a network of residents and campaign groups which opposes fracking. It has called for local and national government to adopt an energy policy based primarily on renewables and energy efficiency.
It had been working towards a general election in 2020 but with last month’s announcement of a June 2017 poll it has had to change its plans.
The group said it had distributed 50,000 leaflets before the election announcement. Since then it said it had seen a 150% increase in the number of activists who wanted to join the campaign and received orders for more than 100,000 leaflets.
Cross Party Frack Free holds a register of politicians who support a UK-wide ban on fracking. Up to now, the register has been open only to elected councillors and MPs and to Peers. But election candidates can now register to support a ban. It said in the past few days, about 40 parliamentary candidates had signed up. They include anti-fracking campaigner, Tina Rothery, and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett. Labour’s Cat Smith and the Green’s Caroline Lucas had joined the register in 2016.
The groups said their online launch tonight had a social reach of more than one million. Their website includes lists of candidates and interactive maps of constituencies and licence areas, as well as information about fracking.
A spokesperson from Frack Free United said:
“Fracking has to be stopped by changing Government policy and we are urging people to find out more about the damage that fracking will do to their communities and before they cast their vote on June 8th – this is a brilliant opportunity to drive home our anti-fracking message and promote the alternative technologies needed to help meet the UKs legal obligations to stop climate change.
“We want voters to make an ‘informed choice’ on who is the best person to vote for in their constituency to stop fracking. We have to get the issue on the agenda now and we will try our best to make June 8th the turning point in the fight against fracking.
“Our interactive map has been updated to include parliamentary constituencies and fracking licences and will also provide the candidate names and contact details in each area, encouraging voters to ask them ‘what is your position on fracking?’ The Cross Party Frack Free Register will be accessible from both the Frack Free United and Cross Party Frack Free websites and across the networks on social media.
“We haven’t even launched our general election campaign yet and we have been already been inundated with supporters signing up from across the UK. We are providing guidance and info to spread our message, which includes supplying the ‘Your home is in a fracking area’ leaflet, giving them opportunity to raise awareness and inform candidates of fracking in their area.”
Cross Party Frack Free register
- DrillOrDrop asked Backing Fracking, Lancashire for Shale and Friends of Ryedale Gas Exploration, three groups in favour of fracking, about their plans for the general election campaign. We will report on any campaign initiatives supporting the industry.
Categories: Opposition
DRILL OR DROP? 
We’ve already seen Backing Fracking’s meme supporting Mark Menzies and trying to discredit other candidates, so it looks very much as though 2017 will be a rerun of 2015 for them with smears and ad hominem attacks trying to distract attention from the fact that Mr Menzies still hasn’t explained away the allegations made by the Sunday Mirror, as he promised he would. Is it really 3 years since he made that promise?
Oh goodie so when Conservatives win will all the annoying band of brothers go back to their caravans and let us get on with work?
So, Natalie Bennett signed up to provide informative guidance! I can see she will be the expert on the economics. Think that is what you call an oxymoron, or something similar? And the numbers will be calculated by Diane Abbott. This really will have the pollsters recalculating!
Martin. You can’t blame the anti fracking brigades for the lack of trying that driven by the delusion of grandeur.
In my humble opinion the reality is that initiatives like this will help to raise the political profile of fracking and help spread the word. It will also provide data on those candidates that are prepared to openly oppose fracking.
Which is very commendable.
However, again in my humble opinion, I suspect that the reality is that Brexit, the economy, the NHS, social care, education, tax, and basically the amount of money in an individual’s pocket is likely to be at the forefront of the electorate’s minds – whether or not they support or oppose fracking. People who oppose or support fracking are parents, carers etc just like everyone else in the population.
I am not saying fracking isn’t important, it is, but at a crucial time when the country is on the verge of leaving the EU, I just think there is a lot at stake.
Some may have decided to vote tactically or for a future independence referendum and so on. I am sure people will make their choice for many different reasons.
I have grown very weary of people claiming that a vote for the Conservatives is a vote for fracking or vice versa a vote for Labour or the Lib Dems means you don’t support fracking. This is a ridiculous oversimplification. Seriously how many voters read and understand a party’s full manifesto or agree with every single thing in a manifesto? Fracking, the environment has hardly been touched upon in all the news reports, interviews with politicians, it has all been about Brexit, the economy, NHS, social care and issues like that.
Sadly we only seem to be able to get about 30% to 40% of the eligible population to even bother to vote.
I for one will be glad when the elections are over and life can move on 🙂
Of course, people vote for all sorts of reasons and some are more led by party politics, some by local candidates. These efforts will help inform those voters concerned by fracking in the mix of other factors that they prioritise. Indecently, one of the registrants is a professor of economics.
“They include anti-fracking campaigner, Tina Rothery, and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett. Labour’s Cat Smith and the Green’s Caroline Lucas had joined the register in 2016.”
All heavy hitters…….
Just signed up to try and help get Cat Smith out of Lancaster. Waste of space Corbynista.
Regardless of party allegiance, I can honestly say that Cat Smith is the hardest working and approachable MP I know. Nothing is too much trouble for her and her involvement in the local community where I live is tireless. If all MPs were like her, rather than the selfish self serving specimens most are, Parliament and the country would be in far better state.
The recent council elections show that nobody cares about fracking. Recent tracker surveys show that half of the people dont have an opinion either way. Most people are sensible enough to realise that the UK does things properly, and that expert tech knowledge travels easily. The idea that water will be poisoned and farming destroyed is fanciful and has no evidence.
Anyone who does have their doubts only has to look at the protest livestreams from Preston New Road. The behaviour shows that this is more an anti Tory/anarchist protest like the occupy movement a few years ago. In fact the same people are involved. Shale gas extraction will not even be a factor in peoples voting. Anecdotal evidence from campaigners is that nobody asks about this even in the Blackpool/Preston area
“Recent council elections show that nobody cares about fracking.” “Shale gas extraction will not even be a factor in people’s voting. Anecdotal evidence from campaigners is that nobody asks about this even in the Blackpool/Preston area.”
Yet those Backing Fracking are constantly telling us that since the Conservatives won the last election and they now have control of Lancashire County Council this was confirmation that the public want fracking.
You can’t have it both ways.
“One of the registrants is a professor of economics”.!!!
Remember them? Absolutely hundreds of them signing letters (advertisements) during the June referendum telling us little people that we were deluded and how they knew better.
You really have to marvel at some opinions, that even when something has been totally discredited, just wheel it out again. Next, Tony Blair will be registering to produce a dossier!
Talking of Tony Blair and the dossier. Thousands of people opposed and marched against the Iraq war and were ignored. The war went ahead anyway and what a disaster that turned out to be. The protestors were right all along.
Thousands of people are against fracking and demonstrate against it. It is going ahead anyway. And what a disaster fracking will turn out to be.
It is pleasing to see the Fracking [edited by moderator] come out in such force, always a good sign that they have something to worry about. Yes, it seems a nerve has well and truly been hit.
What is there to worry about? CrossPartyFrackFree? You are joking. Irrelevant and of little consequence to the elections as we have already seen. For us (me at least) this BB is entertainment, thats all.
As you pointed out higher up, “Of course, people vote for all sorts of reasons and some are more led by party politics, some by local candidates.”
Some people who are directly affected due to proximity to their homes may vote based on fracking alone. I won’t vote for anyone who supports onshore wind farm so I understand this.
In Lancaster, you have a choice of Cat Smith or Eric Ollerenshaw. Cat Smith wants the Greens to withdraw their candidate so she must be worried she won’t get back in. Ironically Eric does not support fracking either. But he is a far better MP.
Sorry CPFF one of my guilty pleasures is simply deriding your sides arguments.
Labour have come out strong with their anti fracking statement in the ‘leaked’ manifesto. So now we have a fair and equal fight. Labour/Libs /Greens v Conservatives. But of course you won’t say it’s fair as you know you’re got to get decimated on the 8th.