Government faces fracking setback as MPs call for total ban

‘The Government is today facing a backbench rebellion over legislation to make it easier for energy companies to frack for shale gas, as an influential committee of MPs demands a total fracking ban.

A number of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are preparing to defy a three-line whip and vote in favour of amendments to the Government’s Infrastructure Bill that would effectively impose a moratorium on fracking in the UK.

The rebels include the former Cabinet minister Caroline Spelman and Home Office minister Norman Baker as well as a significant number of other MPs with constituencies in potential fracking zones who are worried the issue could cost them their seats in May.

The backlash comes as a report from the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee concludes that fracking for gas should be suspended in the UK because it poses significant health risks to locals and makes it virtually impossible for the country to meets its carbon reduction targets.’

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