Labour looks to further humiliate Liz Truss with motion on fracking ban

Today will be another tough day at the office for Liz Truss, as Labour looks to further humiliate the embattled Prime Minister. The party has tabled an opposition day motion that would guarantee future parliamentary time for a bill that would ban fracking – giving Conservative MPs the opportunity to break with the current party line and put their opposition to the use of the process on record. Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband issued an explicit challenge to the Tory backbenches, declaring: “Every Conservative MP who opposes fracking must now put country over party and support Labour’s ban on fracking.”

The 2019 Conservative manifesto stated that the party would not support the extraction of shale gas “unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely”. A government-commissioned report from the British Geological Survey on fracking concluded earlier this year that “forecasting the occurrence of large earthquakes and their expected magnitude is complex and remains a scientific challenge”. As such, Truss’ decision to scrap the ban on the use of the process was an explicit breach of a key manifesto pledge. Several Tory MPs raised concerns about the decision to lift the ban during a parliamentary debate on fracking at the end of last month, which got particularly heated when Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg accused those opposing the move of “sheer Ludditery”.

Labour is seeking to exploit these divisions within the Conservative Party – forcing Tory MPs to choose between backing their leader and supporting a policy that may see them punished at the ballot box. The government enforced the ban on fracking in 2019 amid opposition from environmentalists and concerns about earth tremors. A recent analysis found that fracking at a site near Blackpool was responsible for 192 earthquakes over the course of 182 days between 2018 and 2019. With this context, it is unsurprising that Tory MPs in the constituencies where fracking is likely to take place – such as Mark Menzies in Fylde or Greg Knight in East Yorkshire – have been most vocal about their concerns.

Truss also faces a potential Tory rebellion over the pension triple lock after her official spokesperson repeatedly refused to commit to maintaining the pensions guarantee – another key 2019 manifesto commitment. Tory MPs Maria Caulfield and Steve Double announced on Twitter that they would not vote to end the triple lock, which guarantees that the state pension rises every year by the highest out of inflation, earnings or 2.5%. The speed with which Conservative MPs have gone public with their opposition to Truss’ approach is indicative of the deep discontent within the party. The atmosphere of today’s Prime Minister’s Questions – often a raucous, jeering affair – will be even more revealing.

On LabourList today, we have an eye-opening piece from Justin Madders on his experience shadowing a driver working for two well-known delivery companies. The shadow employment rights and protections minister writes: “Many gig economy jobs inhabit the twilight zone between genuine self-employment and direct employment. They only flourish because the government has let them. Labour will legislate to stop bogus self-employment and the exploitation it enables – and end this race to the bottom.” Not one to be missed.