UK govt wins vote on fracking
UK prime minister Liz Truss' Conservative government has defeated a motion by the opposition Labour party to consider a ban on hydraulic fracturing, marking a rare win for the embattled leader.
Truss, who took office in early September, has faced growing calls to resign including from her own party after proposing a mini-budget several weeks ago that included significant tax cuts that prompted a very negative market reaction to the increase borrowing required. She has since had to U-turn on the measures.
The government won the vote on hydraulic fracturing in parliament by 326 to 230, however, with many commentators viewing this as a vote of confidence in her leadership.
Truss announced plans to end England's existing moratorium on fracturing several days after entering office, as part of a number of measures to boost the UK's energy security. The ban had been put in place by her predecessor Boris Johnson, closing the door on the development of a potential 37.6 trillion m3 of in-place gas in the Bowland Shale stretching across north England.
Prominent would-be shale gas developers in the UK include Cuadrilla Resources, which said in late September that "a thriving shale gas industry will drive job creation across the north of England, generate much needed tax revenues for central and local government, and help tackle spiralling gas prices."
Whether or not national rules permit hydraulic fracturing, another issue that developers have contended with is opposition from local councils and limits of acceptable levels of seismic activity that Cuadrilla and others have said should be raised.