Over the weekend Reform vowed to scrap the fracking ban, telling energy firms to get ready to “drill, baby, drill“. Richard Tice declared it “grossly financially negligent” to leave “hundreds of billions of pounds” worth of energy sitting underground. Some cracks are forming in the party’s local branches…
In Reform-run Lancashire County Council, Fylde East’s County Cllr and Cabinet member Joshua Roberts put out a press release yesterday flatly rejecting fracking in his patch. He insisted:
“As Cllr Joshua Roberts has stated previously, the conditions in the Fylde Coast are not conducive to fracking, and there are no plans for it to take place here. 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.
Yours Sincerely,
Joshua Roberts.
Reform Fylde Chairman.
County Councillor for Fylde East”
The UK’s only two shale gas wells were in Lancashire, with the last major shale gas site in Preston New Road ordered to fill their wells with concrete in January to be done by June. Cracking under pressure?
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”