London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Some Tory MPs in talks with Labour to block fracking plans

Some Tory MPs in talks with Labour to block fracking plans

Some Conservative MPs are in talks with opposition parties to try to block the government's fracking plans.

Currently, MPs are not set to get a vote on the government's pledge to lift the ban on fracking in England.

But Labour want to force a vote on the issue, while some Tory MPs have told the BBC they would like this too.

Fracking was halted in 2019, following opposition from environmentalists and local concerns over earth tremors.

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

The controversial practice involves drilling into the earth to recover oil and gas from shale rock.

A number of Conservatives told the BBC they had spoken to opposition parties about what mechanism they could use to force the government to change its plans.

A Labour source also confirmed they had spoken to some backbench Conservative MPs who are willing to work together on "opposing fracking".

Some Conservatives said they believe dozens of their colleagues have raised concerns with No 10 and the prime minister about her plans to bring back fracking where there is "local consent".

Some of them have argued publicly, and others privately, that the government has not clarified how it could prove "local consent".

Others have argued that the plans go against the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to maintain the ban on fracking unless the science had changed to show it can be done safely.

In the past, a ban was placed on fracking after it triggered seismic events or earthquakes that breached a threshold set by the government.

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that tolerating a higher degree of risk and disturbance from fracking appears to be "in the national interest" given the desire to produce more energy domestically since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Cross-party MPs who oppose fracking are looking for a parliamentary mechanism they could use to force MPs to get a formal vote on the issue - and use this to try and persuade the government to change its plans.

One idea being considered by opposition parties and Tory rebels is an amendment to future energy or planning bills - draft laws - blocking fracking from taking place, that MPs could then have the opportunity to vote for or against.

If enough Tory MPs voted with the opposition parties, this could overturn the government's majority meaning the amendment would pass.

However, amendments to proposed laws do not always get selected by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Another option being considered is Labour tabling an opposition day debate on the issue, though some rebel Tory MPs could be less likely to vote for a Labour motion than an amendment to a government bill.

While an opposition day vote would not be binding, if it was backed by enough Tory MPs it could be used to show a lack of support for fracking in Parliament.

Opposition sources have told the BBC that fracking is just one policy area where they are attempting to tap into opportunities to overturn the government's plans by getting enough Tory MPs to vote with them instead which, if successful, would scupper the government's parliamentary majority.

Given the number of Tory MPs publicly - and privately - opposing fracking, some have told the BBC they feel the government may eventually see this as one fight too many after weeks of infighting within the Tory party over the government's economic plans.

Earlier this month, the government was forced to perform a U-turn over its plans to scrap the top rate of income tax for the highest earners after widespread opposition from within the Tory party.

Meanwhile, there is currently a live debate in the party over whether or not the government should raise benefits in line with prices or wages, which would be lower.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×