The pro-fracking former energy secretary, Andrea Leadsom, has said she will not fight the general election.

She did not give reasons for standing down.

Dame Angela was energy minister from 2015-2016 and energy secretary from 2019-2020.

In 2016, she told MPs:

“The shale industry … offers the opportunity to really create a new home-grown energy source that is vital for our energy security into the next decade”.

But less than three years later, in November 2019, she announced an immediate moratorium on fracking following a study on Cuadrilla’s operations at Preston New Road, which caused multiple small earthquakes.  

In a statement on the moratorium, she said:

“Whilst acknowledging the huge potential of UK shale gas to provide a bridge to a zero carbon future, I’ve also always been clear that shale gas exploration in the UK must be carried out safely. In the UK, we have been led by the best available scientific evidence, and closely regulated by the Oil & Gas Authority, one of the best regulators in the world.

“After reviewing the OGA’s report into recent seismic activity at Preston New Road, it is clear that we cannot rule out future unacceptable impacts on the local community.

“For this reason, I have concluded that we should put a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect.”

She also made headlines as energy minister in 2015 when she admitted at a meeting in Westminster:

“When I first came to this job one of my two questions was: ‘Is climate change real?’ and the other was ‘Is hydraulic fracturing safe?’ And on both of those questions I now am completely persuaded.”

Dame Angela twice ran to become leader of the Conservative Party in 2016 and 2019. She represented South Northamptonshire for 14 years. She had a majority of more than 27,000 at the 2019 election.

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