Bramleymoor Lane, in north east Derbyshire, where Ineos has permission to explore for shale gas. Photo: DrillOrDrop
More than a third of local election candidates standing next week in an area where Ineos wants to explore for shale gas have signed a “frack free pledge”.
55 would-be councillors in North East Derbyshire have said they will actively oppose fracking in their area.
North East Derbyshire District Council, which has 150 candidates, includes the site at Bramleymoor Lane, in the village of Marsh Lane, where Ineos has permission to drill a vertical exploration well.
The district council’s election candidates who have signed the pledge are from four parties: the Lib Dems (37), Labour (14), Greens (2) and Conservative (2).
In North Wingfield Central, five of the nine candidates are on the list. In Ridgeway and Marsh Lane, the ward that includes the site, two of the three candidates have signed up. In nearby Eckington South, the list includes three of the eight candidates.
Source: Frack Free United
At the time of writing, the pledge, organised by the campaign network, Frack Free United, had been signed by a total of 399 candidates seeking election to 62 councils across England.
The councils with the largest numbers of candidates on the frack free list are mostly in northern England and the east midlands. They are mainly in or near areas licensed for oil and gas exploration.
The highest number of candidates was in City of York, where 78 have signed the pledge and almost all the area is licensed to either Ineos or IGas.
North East Derbyshire, largely licensed to Ineos, is second highest, followed by Sheffield City (29 candidates), Lancaster City (23), Ryedale District (18), East Riding of Yorkshire (14), South Kesteven District (12), Leeds City (12), Mendip District (11).
A quarter of candidates standing for Ryedale District Council, which includes Third Energy’s Kirby Misperton fracking site, have signed the pledge.
The list also includes six candidates standing for Fylde Borough Council, which includes Cuadrilla’s shale gas site at Preston New Road.
Source: Frack Free United
The Green Party has the largest number of candidates on the list (144), followed by Labour (115), and the Liberal Democrats (110). Five Conservative candidates have signed the pledge.
Formby Residents Action Group, which is contesting seats on Sefton Council, has seven candidates on the list. Aurora Resources is preparing a planning application to drill and frack at Altcar Moss, near Formby.
The poll on 2 May 2019 will elect 284 English unitary, borough, district and parish councils, made up of a total of 8,773 seats.
Categories: Politics
DRILL OR DROP? 
And the UK has lost its social conscience!!
Its a sad day in the world, when the spineless sheep of the world follow the flock and don’t vote on their own merits, experience and knowledge! Career Politicians with no experience than to being a politician !
It is because the people of the UK have a social conscience that they are waking up to the dangers they and their children face.
It’s not a sad day in the world, its a sane day in the world at long last.
How can sheep without a spine even stand up, let alone follow anything? The analogy is ridiculous, it is because people have a spine that they can and will and do move towards a sane intelligent response to preserving our planet, and vote upon their own merits, experience and knowledge of the dangers we face if things are allowed to continue the way they are.
The spineless cannot, and will not move anywhere but stay in their own wooly comfort blankets sniping at those who do move forwards towards a truly viable responsible future.
It is the career politicians that have brought us to this situation in the first place with their spineless same old profiteering self serving greed at everyone elses expense.
Some at last, are recognising that the old ways have plunged us and them into the worst danger the human race has faced or will face and to turn that slow curve back to recovery.
It must be done now, not tomorrow, not next year or 2025, or 2050, or never, it is now or the consequences will be to everyone’s and everything’s demise.
That means you too.
[Typo corrected at poster’s request]
No need to worry about that. Everyone knows that when the Lib Dems obtain any real “power” they just reverse their original position!
So, apart from that, councillors are going to seek election on the basis they will spend council tax money opposing something that is legally allowed, and if then authorised will have wasted council tax that could have been spent on keeping services going!
They really do think the electorate are stupid.
Excellent news that candidates are standing up against fracking and it is now a doorstep issue in these councils. And well done to Frack Free United for organising this. Wherever you are – vote Frack Free next week!
Reassuring and heartening to see so many councillors who will actively oppose fracking. Let’s hope we see some of them make it through on election day and help protect communities who will fight day and night to keep their families safe from this destructive industry.
When the exporters of oil and natural gas charge us more in future, and because we no longer have any storage in the Rough field,we will have to pay the price at the time and in the middle of severe winters that could be very impoverishing to those of us living in mud huts.
It would be prudent to exploit the resources under our feet as we transition from fossil fuels to nuclear, solar wind and other forms of energy generation not just for economic reasons but for environmental reasons. The burning of natural gas is the cleanest option in the generation of energy as all the water companies will tell you whilst burning biogas to generate electricity.