There mustn’t be a north / south divide when it comes to fracking

Michael Fallon, who among his many roles is the minister in charge of fracking, has told the Telegraph’s Jame Kirkup that ‘right across the South’ people should prepare for fracking coming to a neighbourhood near them. Considering that fracking will bring with it jobs, growth and cheaper energy this is good news.

But it is also good news because it should prevent a north / south fracking divide. There was a danger that fracking would appear to be something that the Tories were happy to have happen in the north but not in their own southern backyards. The former Tory Cabinet Minister Lord Howell’s call for fracking to be concentrated in the ‘desolate’ north was particularly damaging in this regard.

Despite all the scaremongering, fracking is as safe as any other form of energy extraction. Fallon tells the Telegraph that Water UK is soon to say that it won’t contaminate water supplies.