Dominic Raab votes against bill to ban fracking despite public opposition to new countryside drilling

Monica Harding has accused Esher and Walton’s Conservative MP, Dominic Raab, of endangering Surrey’s countryside, reneging on his manifesto promises of the last General Election and treating local people with contempt by opposing a bill in Parliament which would have led to a ban on fracking.

There are 2 sites designated for fracking in Surrey, less that 10 miles from Cobham, covering the equivalent of 7,564 football pitches.

The vote, which took place on the 19th October, would have made time in Parliament for a motion to ban fracking in Surrey and across the country. However, Conservative MPs blocked the motion. It follows Liz Truss’s Government pushing for fracking rules to be relaxed.

Last month the British Geological Society refused to endorse fracking as safe in their report for the government. The House of Commons Environment Committee has previously warned that fracking poses a “risk to groundwater and a risk of polluting surface water”. They warned too that the need for “considerable quantities of water” for fracking “could pose localised risks to water supplies”.

New research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has also revealed that fracking caused 192 earthquakes in 182 days at the one active site in the UK, equivalent to more than one a day.

Liberal Democrat, Monica Harding, who is campaigning to be Esher and Walton’s next MP, said:

“With this motion, sadly defeated by Conservative MPs, we would have been one step closer to banning dangerous and unnecessary drilling on local green fields.

“The sad truth is that rather than defend our community, Dominic Raab and the Conservative party are ushering gas drillers into Surrey. Oil and gas barons are queuing up for a slice of England’s countryside after today’s shameful vote in Parliament. This decision will prove unforgivable.

“As with everything they do at the moment, this decision by Conservative MPs defies reason.

“Even the Government admits this kind of drilling won’t bring down energy prices. Instead, there needs to be more investment in renewable energy which is the cleanest and cheapest way to bring down bills, as well as bring down carbon emissions.

“The local Liberal Democrats will always champion Surrey’s environment and we will fight tooth and nail to stop oil and gas giants from tearing up our countryside.”