Rishi Sunak reinstates fracking ban overturned by Liz Truss.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the new prime minister said he “stands by the manifesto” on fracking.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto introduced a moratorium on fracking in England after opposition from environmentalists and local communities.
Mr. SunakA spokesperson has clearly confirmed that he is resuming the ban after PMQs.
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Mrs. Truss lifted the ban last month as part of its plan to curb rising energy costs, but said fracking would only resume if local people agreed.
Fracking was ultimately what led to the sacking of her government after Labor tabled an opposition day of debate last Wednesday, calling for a draft law to ban fracking.
But Tory MPs said the motion was actually a vote of confidence in the government and told Conservative MPs they must vote against or face suspension.
However, many of them and their constituents oppose fracking and said they could not vote in favor of fracking, even if the whips saw the vote as something else.
During the vote, there were allegations of “bullying” and “mistreatment” of Tory MPs who were told to vote against the motion.
The following day, Ms Truss resigned as Prime Minister.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate and net zero secretary, said Mr Sunak voted against Labour’s ban on fracking last week and is now imposing a moratorium on the practice.
“Whatever their latest position is, the truth is that the Tories have shown they cannot be trusted on fracking,” he said.
Ms Truss had to make a series of U-turns after her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, ushered in a series of unwarranted tax cuts that unleashed weeks of economic turmoil in Britain.
Mr Sunak has so far kept most of those reversals, but the fracking ban is the first Truss policy to reverse since becoming prime minister on Tuesday.
https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunak-reinstates-fracking-ban-in-another-government-u-turn-12730666
