12th October 2022

Mr Buckland,

I am writing to you because the moratorium on fracking has ended. Fracking is shown in practise to destroy the structure of land, cause earthquakes, release greenhouse gases, and pollute the environment, using large amounts of water. Fracking sites are noisy and smelly, generating a lot of traffic. Proliferation of fracking, especially in the US, has been used to increase plastic production, the opposite of what we need to be doing to deal with plastic pollution.

Over 10 years of fracking attempted in the UK produced no commercial gas. It did produce methane leaks and earthquakes, upsetting communities who didn’t and still don’t want it. The majority of the public don’t want fracking.

The ‘energy crisis’ has come about through a lack of investment in green energy, and gas shortages resulting from the proxy war in Ukraine between the West and Russia / China. This provides an opportunity to expand cleaner energy generation methods and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Doing the right thing wouldn’t be profitable for the oil / gas industry though would it? The government’s connections with them are again noted. According to Desmog, Liz Truss has “appointed multiple advisors with a record of opposing climate action, including a key aide from a think tank funded by oil giant BP”. Her campaign to run for Prime Minister was part-funded by lobbyists with connections to BP who are pro-fracking and against state-funded home insulation. Profit over people, corruption.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

2nd November 2022

Dear Ben Bell,

Many thanks for taking the time to email me about fracking.

First, I would like to make clear that our new Prime Minister supports the core ambitions of the 2019 manifesto on which this Government was elected. The Government will therefore revert to a precautionary approach regarding shale gas exploration in England.

In the November 2019 manifesto, the Government confirmed a moratorium on shale gas exploration in England with immediate effect. Having listened to local communities and assessed the state of the science, Ministers ruled out changes to the planning system. As set out in the manifesto, the Government will not support shale gas extraction unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely.

In line with the British Geological Survey report on the scientific advances in hydraulic fracturing since 2019, forecasting the occurrence of large earthquakes and their expected magnitude owing to shale gas extraction remains a challenge with significant uncertainty.

Fracking will only be supported if it can be carried out in a way that is sustainable and protects local communities. This will be led by the evidence on whether this form of exploration can be done in a way which acceptably manages the risk to local communities.

Further, Ministers are taking a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracturing consents. This position will be maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses the concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

Best wishes,

Robert Buckland MP

6th November 2022

Mr Buckland,

You write that, "the Government will not support shale gas extraction unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely". You provided the same assurances to us in 2019 yet lifted the moratorium on fracking without the assurances that you gave. So you have not been true to your word.

We are not in the realm of scientific theory with fracking. To reiterate, fracking is shown in practise to destroy the structure of the earth, cause earthquakes, release greenhouse gases, pollute the local environment with noxious chemicals, and cause disease and suffering for humans and animals. Given those real not theorised outcomes, the sensible option is to ban it.

Whilst claiming to listen to local communities, it was reported that, "A leaked email from the private office of Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed that they [the government] are exploring ways to roll out fracking and other fossil fuel projects without public scrutiny."

Dishonesty, corruption, profit over people.

Sincerely,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

12th October 2022

Mr Tomlinson,

I am writing to you because the moratorium on fracking has ended. Fracking is shown in practise to destroy the structure of land, cause earthquakes, release greenhouse gases, and pollute the environment, using large amounts of water. Fracking sites are noisy and smelly, generating a lot of traffic. Proliferation of fracking, especially in the US, has been used to increase plastic production, the opposite of what we need to be doing to deal with plastic pollution.

Over 10 years of fracking attempted in the UK produced no commercial gas. It did produce methane leaks and earthquakes, upsetting communities who didn’t and still don’t want it. The majority of the public don’t want fracking.

The ‘energy crisis’ has come about through a lack of investment in green energy, and gas shortages resulting from the proxy war in Ukraine between the West and Russia / China. This provides an opportunity to expand cleaner energy generation methods and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Doing the right thing wouldn’t be profitable for the oil / gas industry though would it? The government’s connections with them are again noted. According to Desmog, Liz Truss has “appointed multiple advisors with a record of opposing climate action, including a key aide from a think tank funded by oil giant BP”. Her campaign to run for Prime Minister was part-funded by lobbyists with connections to BP who are pro-fracking and against state-funded home insulation. Profit over people, corruption.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

12th October 2022

Dear Ben,

Thank you for your email.

Can you confirm your address please?

Kind regards,

Justin Tomlinson MP

12th October 2022

Hi Mr Tomlinson,

You are aware that I'm a south Swindon resident. However, as you are also aware, Plastic Free Swindon covers the whole of Swindon, hence we write to you as the north Swindon representative. We care to work in your constituency because it is vital to do so. Do you care to respond? I can understand that it might be easier not to, especially given that your party is funded by, and connected to, the oil industry. That's a conflict of interest isn't it? Aren't the government supposed to represent the public's best interests, not the oil industry's?

Kind regards,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

12th October 2022

Dear Ben,

Thanks for confirming you live in South Swindon as per how Parliament works, your MP, Robert Buckland MP I am sure will respond shortly.

Kind regards,

Justin Tomlinson MP

12th October 2022

Hi Mr Tomlinson,

You could respond to our Swindon-wide organisation if you wanted to. Protocol doesn't prohibit that.

Kind regards,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

12th October 2022

Hi Ben,

I have read and noted your comments, Robert will pull together the response as he is your MP.

That is how is it always done.

Kind regards,

Justin Tomlinson MP

16th October 2022

Hi Mr Tomlinson,

That may be how you've done this up until now but it doesn't inform north Swindon constituents who follow our campaign of your position. So we will fill in the gaps. According to the TheyWorkForYou website, on January 26th 2015 you "voted against explicitly requiring an environmental permit for hydraulic fracturing activities" and "voted not to ban the exploitation of unconventional petroleum for at least 18 months and not to require a review of the impact of such exploitation on climate change, the environment, the economy, and health and safety be carried out and published".

Thank you. We'll wait for Mr Buckland to respond.

Kind regards,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

8th November 2022

Dear Heidi,

We wrote to both local Conservative MPs when the moratorium on fracking was briefly lifted, to restate the reasons that fracking should be banned. [Link to correspondence provided].

Mr Buckland states that, “Fracking will only be supported if it can be carried out in a way that is sustainable and protects local communities. This will be led by the evidence on whether this form of exploration can be done in a way which acceptably manages the risk to local communities.” He adds that "the Government will not support shale gas extraction unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely”. This was the same assurance that he and the government provided in 2019, which was broken this year!

Fracking cannot be done safely. We know from experience that fracking pollutes the environment with noxious chemicals, releases greenhouse gases, destroys the structure of the land causing earthquakes, and causes disease and suffering. The proliferation of fracking in the US especially has enabled vast expansion of plastic production facilities at at time when we urgently need to be producing less plastic. There are cheaper green energy alternatives to fracking such as wind and solar.

Finally, Mr Buckland states that the government “listened to local communities”. However it was recently reported that, "A leaked email from the private office of Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed that they [the government] are exploring ways to roll out fracking and other fossil fuel projects without public scrutiny."

It is clear that the government want to leave the door open on fracking again rather than ban it. Given their connections to the oil and gas industry and the urgency to act to protect the environment, we are writing to opposition parties seeking assurance and support. Please let us know where you / your party stand on fracking. Do you / your party support a ban on fracking? Do you / your party support urgent investment in green energy alternatives?

All correspondence will be published on our website and shared via various channels. We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

8th November 2022

Dear Ben,

Thank you for contacting me about fracking.

I agree with you - fracking is unsafe, will not help our energy security or cut bills and is opposed by local communities.

The Government has itself admitted this. It imposed a moratorium on fracking in 2019 because it said fracking was dangerous and it could not rule out unacceptable impacts on local communities. It promised that it would not support fracking unless the science showed that it could be done safely. And the then Energy Secretary wrote in March that no amount of UK shale gas would be enough to lower gas prices anytime soon.

Yet the Government recently announced an end to the moratorium on fracking, with no new evidence showing that it can be carried out safely. Furthermore, while the previous Prime Minister promised that fracking would not take place without the support of local communities, the Government did not set out how this support would be determined or even if it intends to keep this promise. I am pleased that a fortnight ago the ban on shale gas fracking in England was restored by the new Prime Minister, but I am still concerned by this government’s direction that puts the interests of fossil fuel companies above those of the British people.

To truly deliver energy security and lower bills, I believe we need a green energy sprint. The current crisis is a fossil fuel crisis and we cannot escape it by doubling down on fossil fuels. Renewables are today nine times cheaper than gas. The only way to cut energy bills and have energy security is with zero-carbon home-grown power, including by quadrupling our offshore wind capacity, more than doubling onshore wind and more than tripling solar by 2030.

I also believe that we need to prioritise and fund energy efficiency, which is why I support proposals for a national effort to bring all homes up to energy performance certificate band C within a decade. This would save families large amounts each year on their energy bills and reduce national gas imports by up to 15%.

I hope this response is helpful. Thank you for taking the time to get in touch with me about this really important issue.

Regards,

Heidi Alexander

8th November 2022

Dear Scott,

We wrote to both local Conservative MPs when the moratorium on fracking was briefly lifted, to restate the reasons that fracking should be banned. [Link to correspondence provided].

Mr Buckland states that, “Fracking will only be supported if it can be carried out in a way that is sustainable and protects local communities. This will be led by the evidence on whether this form of exploration can be done in a way which acceptably manages the risk to local communities.” He adds that "the Government will not support shale gas extraction unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely”. This was the same assurance that he and the government provided in 2019, which was broken this year!

Fracking cannot be done safely. We know from experience that fracking pollutes the environment with noxious chemicals, releases greenhouse gases, destroys the structure of the land causing earthquakes, and causes disease and suffering. The proliferation of fracking in the US especially has enabled vast expansion of plastic production facilities at at time when we urgently need to be producing less plastic. There are cheaper green energy alternatives to fracking such as wind and solar.

Finally, Mr Buckland states that the government “listened to local communities”. However it was recently reported that, "A leaked email from the private office of Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed that they [the government] are exploring ways to roll out fracking and other fossil fuel projects without public scrutiny."

It is clear that the government want to leave the door open on fracking again rather than ban it. Given their connections to the oil and gas industry and the urgency to act to protect the environment, we are writing to opposition parties seeking assurance and support. Please let us know where you / your party stand on fracking. Do you / your party support a ban on fracking? Do you / your party support urgent investment in green energy alternatives?

All correspondence will be published on our website and shared via various channels. We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator

24th November 2022

Hi Ben,

The Socialist Party opposes fracking on the grounds that it would take decades to develop production and offers no route to cheaper energy, in addition to the devastating environmental impacts.

On the environment, the Socialist Party stands for:

• Prioritising major research and investment into replacing fossil fuels and nuclear power with renewable energy and ending the problems of early obsolescence – where products are designed to ‘wear out’ and be replaced – and unrecycled waste.
• Nationalisation of the energy companies, under democratic workers’ control and management, with compensation paid only on the basis of proven need, in order to carry out a major switch to clean, green energy, without any loss of jobs, pay or conditions.
• A democratically planned, massively expanded, free to use, publicly owned transport system, as part of an overall plan against environmental pollution.
• For a major, publicly funded, insulation and energy transition plan for existing housing stock.
• Agribusiness to be taken into democratic public ownership. For a food processing and retail industry under workers’ control to ensure that standards are set by consumers, small farmers; and all workers involved in the production, processing, distribution and retail of food.

I hope this illuminates our position!

Best,
Scott Hunter

8th November 2022

Dear [representative],

We wrote to both local Conservative MPs when the moratorium on fracking was briefly lifted, to restate the reasons that fracking should be banned. [Link to correspondence provided].

Mr Buckland states that, “Fracking will only be supported if it can be carried out in a way that is sustainable and protects local communities. This will be led by the evidence on whether this form of exploration can be done in a way which acceptably manages the risk to local communities.” He adds that "the Government will not support shale gas extraction unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely”. This was the same assurance that he and the government provided in 2019, which was broken this year!

Fracking cannot be done safely. We know from experience that fracking pollutes the environment with noxious chemicals, releases greenhouse gases, destroys the structure of the land causing earthquakes, and causes disease and suffering. The proliferation of fracking in the US especially has enabled vast expansion of plastic production facilities at at time when we urgently need to be producing less plastic. There are cheaper green energy alternatives to fracking such as wind and solar.

Finally, Mr Buckland states that the government “listened to local communities”. However it was recently reported that, "A leaked email from the private office of Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed that they [the government] are exploring ways to roll out fracking and other fossil fuel projects without public scrutiny."

It is clear that the government want to leave the door open on fracking again rather than ban it. Given their connections to the oil and gas industry and the urgency to act to protect the environment, we are writing to opposition parties seeking assurance and support. Please let us know where you / your party stand on fracking. Do you / your party support a ban on fracking? Do you / your party support urgent investment in green energy alternatives?

All correspondence will be published on our website and shared via various channels. We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Ben Bell
Plastic Free Swindon co-ordinator