Letter: Where Do Our Candidates Stand On Fracking?

Published on: 27 Nov, 2019
Updated on: 28 Nov, 2019

Anti-fracking protest at Horse Hill, Surrey.

From: Ada Zaffina

Brockham Oil Watch

This open letter to the Government is based on a legal briefing commissioned by Brockham Oil Watch, written by Harrison Grant Solicitors, with scientific advice from David K Smythe, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics, University of Glasgow.

Paul Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Mole Valley is among the signatories to our letter asking for a ban all forms of fracking.

The moratorium (not a ban) announced by the Government on November 2 covers only very high-volume fracking.

Here in Surrey, the Weald and across the country, communities are still threatened by fracking, which also includes acid stimulation.

The issue has been written about by such prominent names as Peter Styles, a Government adviser on induced seismicity.

Because of the loophole created by a made-up definition of fracking written into UK law, in the Weald we have no system to monitor induced seismicity.

This is truly a shocking state of affairs given that Surrey is now considered one of the UK’s earthquake “hot spots”, and scientists have proposed theories linking these earthquakes to operations at the Horse Hill oil site.

Since launching our letter, more than 500 individuals and groups have signed up, including academics, parliamentary candidates and political groupings, councillors, NGOs, health professionals, environmental professionals and organisations, anti-fracking groups and other campaign groups.

Signatories already include Jeremy Leggett, George Monbiot, Vivienne Westwood, Joe Corré, Professors David Smythe, Stuart Haszeldine, Anthony Ingraffea, Robert Howarth and Denis Hall; Caroline Lucas, Jenny Jones, Jonathan Bartlett, Alan Simpson and many more.

Now we are appealing to all Surrey parliamentary candidates to support our appeal to ban all fracking.