Truss makes fracking vote test of Tory loyalty

An attempt by Labour to ban fracking has been turned into a confidence vote in Liz Truss’s government.

Labour wants to use a vote in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon to force the introduction of a draft law to ban the extraction of shale gas.

But the government has told Tory MPs they must vote against Labour, saying “we simply cannot allow this”.

The BBC has seen a message sent to Tory MPs – telling them: “This is a confidence motion in the government.”

A number of Conservative MPs oppose fracking, but they have been told they must support the government or face being expelled from the parliamentary party.

Labour has said the government has not confirmed what a defeat on this fracking vote would mean for Ms Truss’s premiership.

“The consequence of making this a confidence vote is that if the government loses the motion on fracking, the prime minister will resign and the government will fall,” shadow leader of the House of Commons Thangam Debbonaire said.

“The Tories must urgently confirm this is the case.”

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Truss was asked why Conservative MPs should have confidence in her government, given the economic shock caused by her mini-budget.

The prime minister said “we do face difficult economic times” and insisted she had been “honest about the mistakes I have made”.

During an opposition debate later, Labour will put forward a motion which seeks to make time to table a bill that would ban fracking for good.

Fracking was halted in 2019 following opposition from environmentalists and local concerns over earth tremors linked to the practice.

But last month, the UK government ended the fracking ban in England as part of its plan to limit rising energy costs.

Now Labour says it wants to give MPs a chance to overturn the decision, which broke a 2019 Tory manifesto promise.

In a message to Tory MPs, deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker said the government “cannot, under any circumstances, let the Labour Party take control of the order paper and put through their own legislation”.

He said the party was voting “no” on Labour’s motion, enforcing what’s known as a three-line whip.

“I know this is difficult for some colleagues, but we simply cannot allow this. Please speak with your whip with any issues,” the message from Mr Whittaker reads.

The government hopes the Conservative MPs who oppose fracking will be forced to back down.

Meanwhile, Labour believes the government is walking into a trap. They want to make this a big dividing line, and have adverts ready attacking each MP who votes with the government on fracking.

One Conservative MP has told the BBC that many will be very unhappy about voting with the government on this issue.

Last week, some Tory MPs told the BBC they were talking to opposition parties about ways they could block the government’s fracking plans.

One Labour source said MPs in areas impacted by fracking “will have to consider their constituents before they troop through the lobbies”.

Shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said the motion gave Tory MPs a “simple choice” between banning fracking and allowing the government to “impose” the activity on communities.

When lifting the ban on fracking last month, the government said the practice would resume only where there was local consent.

But is it not clear how local consent would be obtained nor how residents who live near fracking sites would be compensated.

On Wednesday, Ms Truss told MPs the government “will consult on the robust system of local consent” and “give clear advice on seismic limits” before any fracking goes ahead.

The prime minister said Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg “will be saying more about this later today”.

The BBC understands he will give more details of the consent mechanism being proposed.

Ahead of Wednesday’s debate, Mr Miliband said Labour was “standing up to Liz Truss’s unjust charter for earthquakes”, arguing “fracking would make no difference to energy prices”.

“Every Conservative MP who opposes fracking must now put country over party and support Labour’s ban on fracking,” he said.

The Liberal Democrats have urged Tory MPs to “show some backbone” by voting for a ban.

“Conservative MPs will not be forgiven if they give the go-ahead to fracking our countryside for more expensive gas instead of backing renewables,” said Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for energy and climate change.

Reports /TrainViral/