Overview

• Speaking in Liverpool, the energy secretary vowed to permanently prohibit fracking and urged Labour activists to oppose Reform UK’s pro-fracking platform.
• The UK operates under a de facto moratorium introduced in 2019 after the Oil and Gas Authority said tremors from fracking could not be reliably predicted.
• Conservative governments briefly lifted the halt under Liz Truss in 2022 before Rishi Sunak’s administration reinstated it.
• Miliband argued fracking would not cut household bills or deliver long-term jobs and would undermine climate commitments and harm the environment.
• Green groups including Greenpeace UK and Friends of the Earth backed the pledge, as Reform UK pressed to revive fracking and Nigel Farage dismissed Labour’s attacks, with recent polling indicating opponents outnumber supporters.