The prime minister repeatedly said fracking must be with local consent when she was interviewed about fracking this morning by BBC Radio Lancashire. But she refused to rule it out in the county.
In five minutes of the interview with Graham Liver, Liz Truss:
- Referred 10 times to the need for local consent for fracking operations
- Said the government was exploring where there was and wasn’t local consent for fracking
- Admitted she had not been to Preston New Road, where fracking by Cuadrilla caused earthquakes, including one measuring 2.9ML
- Said she would not have described opposition to fracking as “Luddites” with an “air of hysteria”, as the business secretary had in parliament
Here’s a transcript of the part of the interview about fracking. You can also hear it on YouTube.
Graham Liver, presenter, BBC Radio Lancashire
“Lots to talk about and I want to keep it local and I want to talk about fracking. Let’s talk about fracking. We’re the only area of the country that’s actually done it. And it caused earthquakes. People’s houses shook. Why do you think it is safe to continue because none of the science has changed.”
Liz Truss, prime minister
“Well what I want to be clear about is we will only press ahead with fracking in areas where there is local community support for that. The business secretary has been very clear about that. Now fracking is carried out perfectly safely in various parts of the world and the business secretary will make sure that any fracking that takes places is safe. But it is very important for me as prime minister that any fracking has local community consent.
“I think we have to be clear about why we’re doing this. One thing that has happened is that the UK has become dependent on global energy prices and we’ve seen through Vladimir Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine how energy prices have shot up and Russia has used the fact that it produces gas as a way of exerting pressure on other countries and we simply don’t want to be in that position.
“So what I want to see is more home-grown energy in the UK. And that means using resources in the North Sea. It means more renewables, it means more nuclear and it also means fracking in areas where there is local support.”
Graham Liver
“You mentioned Jacob Rees-Mogg. In the House of Commons, he called people who didn’t support fracking Luddites and said there was an air of hysteria about them. Do you agree with his comments?”
Liz Truss
“I wouldn’t have expressed it like that, I can assure you. I am, I am of the view that we need to have local consent to proceed with projects like fracking. I also support that for housing. What I want is – and this is why we are setting up new investment zones across the country with local support to get the economy going, to get investment into our country and the same is true for energy projects as well.”
Graham Liver
“Let’s talk about local consent right now. What does that look like? Scott Benton, the Conservative MP for Blackpool South in a tweet says he believes that people in Blackpool South do not support fracking.
“This is the Tory MP for Fylde, Mark Menzies in the House of Commons:
‘If the Prime Minister is to remain a woman of her word, and a woman in whom we can believe—and I believe she is—can the Secretary of State outline how that local consent will be given and demonstrated in my constituency of Fylde?’
“What does local consent look like prime minister?”
Liz Truss
“Well, the, the, the energy secretary will be laying out in more detail exactly what that looks like. But it does mean making sure there is local support for, for going ahead and I …”
Graham Liver
“It sounds like you don’t know.”
Liz Truss
“And I can assure Mark Menzies. Well, there are various detailed issues that need to be worked through but I can assure Mark Menzies that I will make sure there is local consent if we are to go ahead in any particular area with fracking.”
Graham Liver
“But your local MPs don’t want it, all Conservative. In the past the county council have said they didn’t want it, yet your government overturned it. The science hasn’t changed. Why can’t you tell us this morning there won’t be a return to fracking in Lancashire?”
Liz Truss
“Well I don’t, I don’t accept the premise of your question.”
Graham Liver
“Why?”
Liz Truss
“It’s certainly the case at present. Because. What I said is if there is local consent we will go ahead. We need to explore where there is local consent and where there isn’t and we’re still doing that work. I don’t think we should rule out the whole of Lancashire.”
Graham Liver
“You talked about how it is a success in other countries but in America they do it in the middle of nowhere. Do you actually know where Preston New Road is, where they have been fracking?”
Liz Truss
“Well, I don’t, I don’t think I have been to that site in the past.”
Graham Liver
“Shouldn’t you?”
Liz Truss
“Well, as I’ve said we will only go ahead with projects where there is local consent. I am very, very clear about that. Now, we will make sure that that local consent is in place. And if there is a concern about a particular site, those concerns will, of course, be looked at and taken into account.”
DRILL OR DROP? 
Thick Lizzy doesn’t know her base from her apex and after 3 weeks of hiding away has already devastated the economy and thinks that supporting her oil and gas donors by trying to bribe struggling families into accepting fracking is the way forward, don’t bother unpacking your boxes at number 10 , you won’t be there long enough. #thicklizzy
#toriesoutnow
Well those old enought to remember they know that Labour have often destroyed the encomy . Left wing policies sound nice , down with the rich , but these people are movers and shakers and they pay an enomous amout of tax probabaly i. Best question you can ask of a left winger is , suppose you won a lot of money on the lotto, would you give it away to your poorer breathern ? Of course they wouldn’t, they are in it with the thought of one day they will be rich . As for the danger of fracking in article above . America has fracked 1,700,000 wells and they are not beset by earthquakes. They can cause minor earth tremours the equivilent to a lorry passing a house that is near to the road . Earthquakes is silly studenty rubbish magnifed by the climate change mob and upscaled from minor to dangerous because it suits their purpose to do so
This is a load of nonsense, they want foreign investment and the only things worth investing money into are: The N.H.S. ;the oil and the gas. Fracking is the whole reason for leaving the E.U. as they are no longer able to regulate this industry.And where in the world has fracking taken place safely?
Notice the careful wording. The truss says: “I will make sure there is local consent if we are to go ahead in any particular area with fracking.”
That sounds like a threat, as though she will make sure, with our arms up our backs, that we WILL consent!
Lancashire County Council is on the list of 38 places to be considered as Investment Zones, where environmental and planning regulations would be relaxed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rees Mogg’s plan is to take LCC’s request to be an Investment Zone as consent to fracking and present it as a community choice. In other words, blackmail. Accept fracking or wave goodbye to your Investment Zone.
They will say they will pay fuel bills for those living close to the site and it will be tempting for those that have been ruined by the Tory caused #costoflivincrisis , it’s blackmail imo . It won’t happen!
struggling families, are just that struggling, because of the investment in to expensive subsidised renewables which are not achieving what they said they would, do you honestly believe that struggling families are sitting there discussing climate change?? But they are discussing how they HEAT & EAT this winter!! With home produced energy, the energy copanies are in business to make money, while you an john are mentioning oil and gas operators to sell to only the UK consumers, is that the same for the Mexican families when it comes to avocado production?, and consumption in the UK, or the same when it comes to nut produce in California? When your awaiting your chestnuts for Christmas. There are ships coming from Australia and the US to import fracked gas in to the UK, and the anti’s are still pushing their we don’t need fossil fuels agenda! Lunacy…
No, families are struggling because of expensive gas, because of being left over reliant on gas because there was failure and delay to better insulate homes, build new homes with higher energy efficiency standards, failure to build sufficient new homes with carbon free heating and failure to roll out more renewable/carbon free energy. The ban on onshore wind was quite frankly ridiculous.
Renewables are now nine times, that is nine times cheaper than gas. Just think how much higher energy bills would be if renewables and nuclear hadn’t been contributing to our energy consumption!
More renewables and more energy efficiency equals less dependency, less consumption of expensive gas and a reduction in greenhouse gasses. Win win.
And just how much tax payers subsidies do you think the fossil fuel industry has and still receives from the U.K. tax payer? Just look at the current tax subsidies currently being given to the fossil fuel industry as it makes record profits. 91p for every £1 invested. £13.6 billion since the Paris Agreement.
The U.K. subsidies fossil fuels more than any other EU country.
Renewables are a newer form of energy being rolled out and developed yet the very mature fossil fuel industry making billions of profit, still takes huge subsidies from hard working tax payers.
https://news.sky.com/story/climate-change-uk-government-oil-and-gas-subsidies-hit-13-6bn-since-paris-agreement-campaigners-say-12477295
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/23/uk-has-biggest-fossil-fuel-subsidies-in-the-eu-finds-commission
You truly are dense if you believe that Eli. You say the question is heat or eat. As anyone who has experienced the realities of fracking will tell you, this perfidious industry cannot guarantee that you will be left with a home to heat or a table to eat from. Would that our choices were as simple as heat or eat.
https://theenergyst.com/lancashire-geology-limits-englands-fracking-feasibility-say-academics/
Even with the climate infiltrators she won’t get consent. We’ll make sure of that!
Above is all I’ve got to say before my comment is moderated.
One way we can test trust Truss’ word that Fracking would not proceed without local community consent is to ask Local Authorities to say no to Fracking in a Motion , as some have done in the past. Such a vote by elected representatives in Local Government would show the Government that the vast number of their constituents in their communities are against Fracking.
I don’t believe the government have any intention of getting community support. Rees Mogg has stated that the communities have to accept a higher level of risk and disruption for the good of the nation. Why would he say that if people had a choice? Truss has gained the leadership on a lie.
Nantanoi et al:
”The faults that induced the largest seismic events in the Preston New Road site, of c. 200 m in length for seismic events of magnitudes below 3.0 (as imaged with a multicomponent, downhole microseismic monitoring array deployed during the hydraulic-fracturing stimulations), could not be identified in the 3D seismic survey, which only mapped fault planes larger than 400 m in length.”
Sounded to me hesitant evasive and as if she didnt have a clue about the science of fracking nevermind the countrywide communities who’ve already demonstrated they are against it!