Ed Miliband has doubled down on Labour’s manifesto commitment to permanently ban fracking just days after a giant gas field was discovered in the UK.
The Energy Secretary said the Government would be sticking to its plans despite the discovery of the gas field in Lincolnshire that could fuel the UK for a decade.
A spokesman for Mr Miliband told the Telegraph: “We intend to ban fracking for good, as per our manifesto commitment. We will update on this in due course.”
United Kingdom Onshore Oil and Gas, which represents the UK onshore oil and gas industry, said figures by the Climate Change Committee in 2022 showed there will be a shortfall of around 1 trillion cubic metres of natural gas up to 2050.
Some experts have argued gas is required as a “bridging fuel” as the UK looks to move to more renewable forms of energy.
The gas field in Gainsborough would require fracking which is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock.
Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie warned “Labour’s ideological drive against oil and gas” is halting investment in the economy and putting 200,000 jobs at risk.
Richard Tice, Reform MP for Boston and Skegness, told the Telegraph that using the UK’s own oil and gas reserves will provide reliable energy and make the country more competitive.
He added: “It’s gross negligence by Labour and the Tories not to want to make us better off by using our own energy reserves.”
The UK wants to achieve net zero by 2050.
A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero told the Daily Express: “We intend to ban fracking for good and make Britain a clean energy superpower to protect current and future generations.
“The biggest risk to our energy security is staying dependent on fossil fuel markets and only by sprinting to clean power by 2030 can the UK take back control of its energy and protect both family and national finances from price spikes.
“Through our Plan for Change, we will reignite our industrial heartlands as we seize the opportunities of the clean energy transition, and will continue to drive investment for businesses and communities in the UK.”
The Government has announced new investment aimed at supporting clean energy manufacturing and skilled jobs, with offshore wind developers now able to bid for financial support if they drive investment in the UK’s most deprived regions.
In 2022, the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent climate advisers, said weaning off UK fossil fuels was the best way to protect from high energy prices.
