Ed Miliband to announce 'total ban' on fracking in fight against Reform

Ed Miliband is set to announce a "total ban" on fracking as he ramps up Labour's fight against Reform UK.

There is currently a moratorium on the controversial energy extraction method which involves drilling deep into the earth then shooting at high speed a mixture of sand, water and chemicals to dislodge shale gas.

Reform UK supports fracking across Britain but it is unpopular among communities because it causes earthquakes.

Speaking to the 38 Degrees campaign group, Mr Miliband said: "I am about to announce something you have been calling for and campaigning on, which is to ban fracking for good. You called for it, I'm going to do it, thank you for your campaigning."

Research by Friends of the Earth suggested Mr Miliband's constituency is among those who could be impacted by fracking if a Reform government were in power.

The findings suggested a total of 187 constituencies are partially or totally within areas the British Geological Society has labelled "shale prospective areas" - locales where specific geologic conditions exist that could make fracking viable.

Of these constituencies, 141 are existing Labour seats, 25 are Conservative, 15 are held by the Lib Dems and 2 by Reform UK, with swathes of Scotland, the North of England, the Midlands and the South potentially at risk.

MPs including Angela Rayner, Lee Anderson and the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are among those whose constituencies could be affected.

A YouGov poll last month highlighted the unpopularity of Reform's pro-fracking position with the public, with twice as many people opposing the practice as supporting it.

This runs parallel to the consistent local opposition that communities facing the threat of fracking have mounted against developments over many years, which - along with tremors at Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site - eventually led to the moratorium in 2019.

There is not currently a permanent ban in law, just a temporary moratorium, which was briefly lifted by Liz Truss in 2022 then reinstated by her successor Rishi Sunak.

Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "Wherever attempts to get fracking off the ground in the UK have been made, local communities have always been in staunch opposition knowing they'll pay the true environmental and local costs of developers' get-rich schemes.

"Reform has seriously miscalculated if it thinks people will lie down and accept such a deeply unpopular policy were it ever to get into power. We saw how well that worked out for Liz Truss - backing fracking was one of the key factors that led to her demise. Communities that have driven would-be frackers out of their areas remain on standby to see them off again, whenever that threat should arise - and we will stand with them every step of the way.

"The fact remains that fracking will do absolutely nothing to ease the pain being felt in people's lives either. With the price of gas dictated by global markets, it won't make a drop of difference to our bills. The real path to cheap and affordable energy is going green and clean by unlocking the UK's vast renewable power potential."