Mark Menzies, the MP for Fylde, challenged the business secretary to start drilling in North East Somerset before imposing fracking in other constituencies. Menzies’ constituency is one of the worst affected by shale gas drilling, with seismic events in the Fylde, home to Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site, twice prompting national moratoriums. “I think the Secretary of State has shale gas in his constituency,” he said. “It would be great for him to lead by example on this, so why doesn’t he ensure that the first shale wells are fracked in his constituency and why not? There is no nobler purpose than to lead by example. “There is nothing to stop him claiming that North East Somerset is the flagship project. I’m sure after hearing him in parliament, he’s very confident that people will welcome it with open arms, that communities will celebrate. Let’s start with North East Somerset. I think we would applaud him.” Rees-Mogg did not respond when asked by the Guardian whether he would accept Menzies’ challenge. While British Geographical Survey maps show there may be shale gas in his constituency, no licenses have yet been granted in North East Somerset. However, there are shale gas licenses in the neighboring constituency of Wells, so his constituents would still be affected if those areas were split up. Menzies, who was elected in 2010, is seeking assurances that the prime minister, Liz Truss, will stick to her pledge to break up areas only after getting local consent. This week, the Guardian revealed that the government is considering making fracking sites nationally major infrastructure projects, bypassing local planning requirements. In parliament on Thursday, Rees-Mogg refused to reassure Menzies that his constituents could block the drilling, instead saying they would be compensated. “Obviously we want to work with local communities and it’s really important that companies looking to extract shale gas find packages that do what they’re proposing to make welcome to local communities,” he said. Tory MPs confront Jacob Rees-Mogg over decision to lift fracking ban – video Menzies doesn’t think that’s good enough. He said: “One question that was put to the secretary of state was how do you define local consent – he was asked eight times – and the answer was no. The government came to the dispatch box without an answer: it has work to do to reassure members of parliament. “This is a critical thing for me, the people of this country can understand the issues around energy prices, but above all they expect the Prime Minister to make sure that her government will keep its crystal clear commitments and that there will be no backsliding or reformulation’. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He warned that Truss could face a revolt from supporters if she went back on her word: “Every Conservative colleague who has fracking in their constituency is taking the Prime Minister at her word that she will only go ahead with local consent and gut feeling. it will be across the parliamentary party, for all of us who will be affected by it.” Menzies has been dealing with fracking and its effects in his constituency for 12 years and has not always been against it. However, after experiencing unrest, local anger and earthquakes, with no benefits for the constituency, he has become a vocal opponent of shale gas extraction locally. “I’ve been doing this for 12 years. For a long time I was not against it. I was of the view that you had to look at whether it could be done safely, whether local people could come with you, whether it has local or national benefits. And now we have seen the result,” he said. “So anyone who says it hasn’t been tested doesn’t know what they’re talking about. If the industry wants to keep gobbling up the same piece of rock – I would point to the article in the Guardian which highlights the fact that Cuadrilla’s founder says it wouldn’t work. “For those Conservative MPs who don’t have shale gas and think everything is great, I would say think about whether it was your constituency and the people you represent. You should take their concerns into account, not brush them aside.”
