‘Anti-science’ ministers win vote to ban fracking
OPPONENTS launched a scathing attack on the Scottish Government yesterday, accusing it of ignoring key scientific evidence and of ‘sheer hypocrisy’ after MSPs backed plans to ban fracking.
Earlier this month ministers said the method of oil and gas extraction ‘cannot and will not take place in Scotland’, thereby extending a moratorium on the practice.
The move has been backed by a majority of MSPs, but the Scottish Conservatives yesterday criticised the Government, insisting a ban is ‘bad for jobs, bad for our economy and bad for the environment’.
Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said the move was ‘anti-science’ and ‘ludicrous’ as he accused the SNP of hypocrisy.
Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens voted with the SNP to ban fracking, with one Conservative breaking ranks to oppose the practice.
Oliver Mundell defied the party whip and voted with the Government after making a pledge to his constituents to back a ban.
The Conservatives have led opposition on banning fracking, claiming that it could help boost Scotland’s economy by billions, and that it would mean the country no longer had to import gas.
Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, involves firing water at high pressure into rock, forcing it to crack and release gas.
Shale gas is processed in Scotland, at the Ineos petrochemical plant in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, but is shipped in from other countries where fracking can take place, such as the United States.
Environmental groups have welcomed the ban, claiming the process can lead to earthquakes and damage land, but critics say scientific evidence shows the benefits outweigh the small risk involved.
Mr Fraser said: ‘It’s difficult to know which aspect of the SNP’s ludicrous ban on fracking is worse.
‘Its abandonment of evidence-led policy-making, contempt for science, or the sheer hypocrisy from a party that in the past has been happy to champion Scotland’s hydrocarbon industry.
‘The Scottish Government’s own report on this was quite clear – fracking could be conducted safely in Scotland providing safeguards were put in place. It commissioned the research only to ignore it and treat the findings with contempt.’
Mr Fraser insisted a ban is ‘bad for Scotland, jobs, our economy and for the environment’. He added: ‘Even though the Nationalists seek to ban fracking, we will continue to see fracked gas from elsewhere imported to Scotland to heat our homes and power our industry.
‘In effect, what the SNP is saying is that it’s happy to import fracked gas from anywhere in the world at great cost and where the safeguards may be much less, but it doesn’t want it in our back yard.’
However, the Conservatives were the minority in last night’s debate, with Labour’s Claudia Beamish claiming that fracking is ‘unwanted technology’ which was ‘incompatible with Scotland’s future as a green and progressive nation’.
She said: ‘The long-term damage outweighs any short-term value, a value which has been significantly over inflated by the industry.’
‘Bad for jobs, bad for the economy’