Markus Andrews

More than 180 constituencies are threatened by Reform UK’s controversial pro-fracking agenda, new research has revealed.The analysis by Friends of the Earth this week identifies the parliamentary areas that could be vulnerable to development for fracking if Nigel Farage’s party were to get into government.A total of 187 constituencies are partially or totally within areas the British Geological Society has labelled ‘Shale Prospective Areas’ – locales where specific geologic conditions exist that could make fracking viable – according to the environmental justice organisation.Of these constituencies, it found that 141 are existing Labour seats, 25 are Conservative, 15 are held by the Liberal Democrats and 2 by Reform, with swathes of Scotland, the North of England, the Midlands and the South potentially at risk. MPs, including former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, Reform’s Lee Anderson and energy secretary Ed Miliband, are among those whose constituencies could be affected.The Independent has now mapped out the research, showing the proportion of shale areas in each constituency, as well as the political party of the local MP.Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a method of extracting oil and gas from shale rock by pumping liquids deep underground at high pressures to release the gas trapped inside.There is a de facto ban on fracking in the UK, originally brought in six years ago. The government ended its support for fracking in 2019 after an Oil and Gas Authority report found it was not possible to accurately predict the probability of tremors associated with the practice.But Reform has called for more extraction of oil and gas, pledging to “unlock Britain’s vast energy treasure of oil and gas to slash energy bills, beat the cost-of-living crisis and unleash real economic growth”.Last month, YouGov polling revealed the unpopularity of fracking with the public, with twice as many people opposing the practice as supporting it. This runs parallel to the consistent local opposition that communities facing the threat of fracking have mounted against developments over many years, which – along with tremors at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site – eventually led to the moratorium in 2019.The analysis by Friends of the Earth this week identifies the parliamentary areas that could be vulnerable to development for fracking if Nigel Farage’s party were to get into government More

Baroness Michelle Mone has hit out at Kemi Badenoch and said she has no wish to return to the Lords as a Conservative peer after a company linked to her was ordered to repay millions of pounds for breaching a Covid-19 PPE contract.On Wednesday, PPE Medpro was ordered to pay back the government nearly £122 million. In response, several high-profile politicians have called for Lady Mone to relinquish her seat in the Lords, with Tory leader Ms Badenoch saying she had brought “embarrassment and shame to the party”, and should have the “book thrown at her”.Entrepreneur Michelle Mone (Archive/PA) More

Zack Polanski has vowed to defend Britain from a descent into authoritarianism under Sir Keir Starmer, warning the prime minister that “our rights and our liberties are not negotiable”. In his first conference speech as Green Party leader, the left-wing firebrand attacked Sir Keir over digital IDs, the proscription of the Palestine Action protest group and Labour’s decision to ban a handful of journalists from its own conference in Liverpool.“This country has a proud tradition of protecting civil liberties – but once again a Labour government is cracking down on our rights,” he warned.Mr Polanski said: “From terrorist proscription against protesters, to banning journalists from their conference, to diving into a rushed, evidence-free plan for digital IDs that are likely to discriminate against minorities.“The alarm bells of authoritarianism are now ringing.” And he said: “It’s down to us, the Green Party, to take a stand and say that our rights and our liberties are not negotiable, and we will do everything in our power to protect both our privacy and defend our juries.” Mr Polanski said the proscription of Palestine Action, which is planning another protest in London on Saturday despite the threat of arrest against those who support it, “must be withdrawn”. It comes after the home secretary called for pro-Gaza demonstrations to be cancelled in the wake of Thursday’s terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.Shabana Mahmood urged those considering attending protests in the wake of the tragedy to “show some humanity”. Polanski giving his first conference speech as leader of the Green Party on Friday More

Shabana Mahmood has called on pro-Gaza demonstrators to stop protesting in the wake of the terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester. The home secretary condemned a protest that took place in Manchester in the wake of the stabbing, calling on those who attended to “show some humanity”. “I think some humanity could have been shown. I am disappointed that humanity and solidarity wasn’t shown to our Jewish community,” she told Sky News. Ms Mahmood added: “I was very disappointed to see those protests go ahead last night. I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British. I think it’s dishonourable. I would have wanted those individuals to just take a step back. “The issues that are driving those protests have been going on now for some time. They don’t look like they’re going to come to an end any day soon. They could have stepped back and just given a community that has suffered deep loss just a day or two to process what has happened, and to carry on with a grieving process.” Ahead of a visit to Manchester, chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said this is a “very dark time”, as he referred to an “unrelenting wave of hatred against Jews”.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Ephraim said: “Right now, our hearts are shattered. What transpired yesterday was an awful blow to us, something which actually we were fearing might happen because of the build-up to this action.The home secretary called on pro-Gaza demonstrators to cancel protests More

Ed Miliband has lashed out at Kemi Badenoch, branding the Tory leader a “Reform tribute act” over her decision to ditch net zero policies.The energy secretary’s attack comes after Ms Badenoch announced that the Conservatives would no longer pursue net zero if she won power again.Going further than even some of her close allies predicted, she revealed she would even repeal the landmark Climate Change Act 2008 and other legislation, promoting criticism from Conservative grandees – including Theresa May – who said it would be a “catastrophic mistake”. Ms Badenoch claimed that her party still wants to leave “a cleaner environment for our children” but argued “Labour’s laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions”.Energy Secretary Ed Miliband More

Theresa May has condemned Kemi Badenoch’s pledge to scrap landmark climate legislation if the Tories win the next election, warning it would be a “catastrophic mistake”. The former prime minister dubbed the plans a “retrograde” step that ended 17 years of consensus on the issue of climate change between mainstream political parties and the scientific community. Her comments came after the Tories announced plans to repeal the Climate Change Act, which was brought in by the last Labour government in 2008 and committed the UK to cut climate emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, with five-yearly carbon budgets to keep the country on track towards the goal.Under May’s premiership, the Conservatives increased the ambition of the act to cut greenhouse gases to zero overall, known as “net zero”, by 2050.Responding to the announcement, Baroness May said: “For nearly two decades, the United Kingdom has led the way in tackling climate change, initially with the Climate Change Act in 2008 and again in 2019 when we became the first G7 country to legislate to get to Net Zero by 2050.“To row back now would be a catastrophic mistake for while that consensus is being tested, the science remains the same. The harms are undeniable. “We owe it to our children and grandchildren to ensure we protect the planet for their futures and that means giving business the reassurance it needs to find the solutions for the very grave challenges we face.“Ultimately, it is innovation and investment that will take us forward, but that can only be achieved by providing consistency and showing a clear determination to stick to the long-term path of reducing emissions, achieving Net Zero and protecting our planet for future generations.”It came after former Tory minister Alok Sharma warned the plans would risk future investment and jobs in the UK. Lord Sharma, who is a former Cop26 president and served as business, energy and industrial strategy secretary under Boris Johnson, urged his party not to “squander” its legacy of climate progress “for the sake of short-term political expediency”.“Thanks to the strong and consistent commitment of the previous Conservative government to climate action and net zero, the UK attracted many tens of billions of pounds of private sector investment and accompanying jobs.Theresa May making a speech at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 More

Robert Jenrick’s thoughts are just “my thoughts repackaged”, Kemi Badenoch has said in what appears to be a swipe at her main rival ahead of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this weekend. It comes as the beleaguered Tory leader faces devastating approval ratings and a growing number of defections to Reform UK – with Mr Jenrick being seen as the frontrunner to replace her. Ms Badenoch has promised a “more fun than usual” party conference this year, with the promotion of open debates between party members on the stage.Kemi Badenoch says Robert Jenrick’s thoughts are just ‘my thoughts repackaged’ More

A senior Conservative shadow minister has called for Baroness Michelle Mone to resign from the House of Lords after a company linked to the peer was ordered to repay almost £122 million to the government for breaching a contract to supply surgical gowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said her behaviour was “disgraceful”, saying the “honourable thing to do” would be to resign. It came as immigration minister Mike Tapp called for Ms Mone to “consider her position”. But he suggested the government would not take steps to remove her. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) sued PPE Medpro at the High Court, claiming the company had breached the deal because the 25 million gowns it provided were “faulty” by not being sterile.Michelle Mone speaking in the House of Lords More