The controversial issue of fracking in Lancashire has divided Reform politicians in the county from their national leadership.

Six years after fracking was halted near Blackpool because of earthquakes, the Reform-led county council has apparently split from the party’s national policy.

The disagreement arose as Lancashire councillors prepare to vote next month on whether to allow more time for restoration of the Preston New Road shale gas site, one of only two UK onshore sites to use high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

Nationally, Reform UK strongly supports fracking. At the 2024 general election, it was the only party to positively back the process in its manifesto.

Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, said last week that shale gas was the “energy treasure under our feet”. He said it would be “negligent not to even try to extract the energy treasure that can improve our economy, grow the economy, make people better off”.

His comments were in contrast to statements from Lancashire Reform councillors that conditions in the Fylde coast are not “conducive to fracking”.

Fracking attempts in Lancashire in 2011, 2018 and 2019 all caused earthquakes felt by residents.

Hydraulic fracturing at Preston New Road in August 2019 caused the UK’s largest fracking-induced earthquake, measuring 2.9ML. The British Geological Survey received nearly 200 reports of damage from eight postcode areas across the Fylde region.

But yesterday Mr Tice dismissed concerns about earthquakes from fracking at Preston New Road:

“In Lancashire, yes, there was an issue but when you talk about an earthquake, if you move your chair back and stand up, you’ve created an earthquake – about 0.5 on the Richter scale.

“Don’t be ridiculous, that’s not an earthquake, that’s standing up and moving your chair!

“If you stand up and drop a melon from your shoulder-height, and that hits the ground, you create a seismicity of 2.0.

“That is not an earthquake – that’s the equivalent of a bus going past your door. Get real!”

Fracking “proven not to be safe in Lancashire”

Local Reform politicians have argued against a revival of fracking in Lancashire.

Joshua Roberts, the county council’s cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities, told BBC News:

“Fracking has its place but not everywhere in Lancashire.

“The geology is the issue the shale under the peat is so porous and unstable and that brings a real risk such as subsidence and water contamination.

“It has a place when safety is proven but it has been proven in Lancashire not to be safe.”

Reform’s deputy leader of the county council, Simon Evans, said in a statement:

“The conditions in the Fylde Coast are not conducive to fracking, and there are no plans for it to take place.

“While Reform UK does support fracking on a case-by-case basis, any activity is expected to be more likely in the East of England rather than the Northwest.

“Cllr Roberts will continue to support local residents and liaise with them regularly to ensure their concerns are heard and represented.”

The issue has also prompted renewed opposition from campaigners and other political parties.

John Singleton, the Conservative councillor who represents the area around Preston New Road, said yesterday:

“I would remind the deputy leader of Reform to consult with the North Sea Transition Authority. The NSTA issued an order to plug and abandon the shale gas wells at Preston New Road.

“The fracking site at Preston New Road was closed because fracking was banned in the UK in November 2019 due to concerns that the tremors caused by the process could not be controlled.”

The Labour MP for Lancaster and Wyre, Cat Smith, said last week:

“Lancashire has already spoken: we do not want fracking. Communities across our county, particularly those on the Fylde Coast, have lived through the earth tremors, the disruption and the broken promises, and they should not be asked to endure them again. Reform UK’s call to bring fracking back shows how out of touch they are with the people who actually live here.”

The Labour police and crime commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, said on social media:

“Last time we had Cuadrilla in Fylde the policing operation cost many millions; and it abstracted officers from their much-needed duties elsewhere in the County.

“Whilst I did manage to recover much of the financial cost from the last government it is impossible to recover the time police officers and staff spent at Preston New Road.

“The public of Lancashire repeatedly tell me that they want me to rebuild neighbourhood policing. That is exactly what I am trying to do!

“We need our police fighting crime and keeping the people of Lancashire safe. We don’t want them bogged down protecting an industry that no one locally supports.”

Anti-fracking campaigners have also rejected Mr Tice’s comments.

Nick Danby, of Frack Free Lancashire, said Reform UK would face “massive and sustained opposition, both nationally and locally, if they try to resurrect fracking”. He said:

“Let nobody forget that the fracking activity at the Preston New Road site caused numerous earthquake tremors – exactly as we predicted.

“We need to embrace greener and cleaner energy as a matter of urgency. Climate change is very real and to deny this is grossly irresponsible.”

Another campaigner, Tina Rothery, said on social media:

“It’s deeply concerning to imagine a return to the hugely damaging past – many of us on all sides of the issue suffered as a result. Residents, local workers, police, activists – all forced into a situation of the government’s making.

“The moratorium that forced the halt to fracking in 2019, makes clear that it cannot be allowed to resume unless it can prove it is safe – and the industry just can’t do that, because it clearly isn’t. If Reform cannot be trusted to keep this harm from our community – what can they be trusted with?”

• The Reform-led Scarborough Town Council recently voted unanimously against plans by Europa Oil & Gas for lower-volume fracking at a proposed gas site at Burniston in North Yorkshire. The proposal could be decided next month (October 2025).