Sturdy and Hollinrake give guarded support

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy says he will reiterate this when he attends a meeting in Downing Street tonight.

Mr Sturdy says he has held meetings on the issue, met with councillors and others and lisatened to constituents.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has similarly made repeated statements fracking will only take place in areas with local support.

He added: “I have submitted parliamentary written questions and written to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to gain further information of how local consent would be assessed and put on record York residents’ prior objection to fracking.

Julian Sturdy MP (Image: Julian Sturdy MP)

“It is paramount that local people are at the heart of local decisions. From my inbox and conversations with constituents over a number of years, it is clear to me that fracking did not have local support before the moratorium and if that remains the case now, I will not support any applications for local fracking sites within York Outer.”

Similarly, Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake has welcomed the fracking move, as long as it is safe and supported by locals.

He told the Press: “I am very supportive of renewable energy and reducing our reliance on imports of fossil fuels. I have also previously spoken out about the need to insulate more homes to reach our net zero target cost-effectively.

 “However, gas will remain part of our energy mix for some decades, particularly when combined with carbon, capture and storage technologies. I always prefer domestic production over imports, particularly given the higher carbon footprints of imported gas. I am supportive, therefore, of increased gas exploration in the North Sea and onshore where it is safe to do so.

“Even it is shown to be safe, it will be some years before shale gas exploration contributes meaningfully to our needs due to the number of well pads and wells required.

Kevin Hollinrake MP (Image: Kevin Hollinrake MP)

“As I have always said, there needs to be strict limits on development to protect communities and countryside and local people should feel the direct benefits of cash in their pockets to compensate them for the inconvenience they may experience from increased traffic.”

He added: “I welcome the Government position that development should only take place with appropriate local community consent.”

However, York Central MP Rachael Maskell firmly disagreed.

She told the Press: “Fracking will not reduce the cost of our energy, in short, it may be sold as the answer to all our current economic problems, but it will be led by commercial interests, generating huge profits for the few at the expense of all of us and of course, it will cause incredible damage to our environment. It will lock the UK into fossil fuels and therefore more pollution for another generation.”

By contrast, Lorraine Allanson, who rose to prominence as founder of the FORGE: Friends of Ryedale Gas Exploration, firmly welcomed the fracking decision.

Today, Lorraine was on twitter backing Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, who in parliament said Vladimir Putin had funnelled cash to anti-fracking campaigners in the UK.

Lorraine Allanson (Image: Lorraine Allanson)

She  told the Press: “As soon as Liz Trust lifter the moratorium, straight away the anti-fracking movement came out with the usual misleading information. They do not have sound evidence to support their claims, nor do they understand U.K. regulations. 

“Our spineless politicians who pander to a very vocal minority would do well to remember fuel poverty destroys lives. People to not vote for poverty, they vote for prosperity. 

“So far the ‘green’ revolution has been a very expensive disaster at providing cheap, plentiful and reliable energy. We can have weeks of wind lulls and live in one of the darkest countries in the world. That means we require a full back up system in place and gas is perfect as it can swing into production quickly. 

“Renewables are proclaimed as cheap, not when you have to account for the back-up system required. Nothing is cheap if it’s not available when required.”