Not that I have a vote here, but the first sensible promise either of them has made so far:
Ms Truss also said she would lift the ban on fracking.
BTW, just to be clear on this. I don’t mind if it doesn’t work out. Lots of things don’t, especially with natural resource extraction. I do mind terribly that it hasn’t been tried.
Yes it is sensible, glaringly obvious in fact.
Coming from a politician it is 99.98% likely to be a lie. However, in the remote possibility that she actually means it a parallel commitment will be required to redirect police resources away from responding en-masse to reports of possible non-crime hate incidents towards protecting legal fracking operations from super-glue wielding trustafarians, retired and not yet retired shouty vicars and elderly ladies of independent means (it’s that bloody Thompson woman again).
Lift the ban on fracking…
if “local communities” don’t object.
So no fracking, then.
Depends how smart the fracking companies are…
Dear resident within 2 miles of our operation,
Upon this facility going into production, you will be placed onto a special tariff whereby you will pay no more than 4p/unit for gas. Obviously, the quicker we can get this facility producing gas, the sooner you will benefit from this tariff.
Yours faithfully,
etc.
…and watch the locals send the Emma Thompsons packing.
She seems to be wanting to put in local dividend schemes, if those can get some fracking built, then great.
Equivalent schemes work reasonably well elsewhere.
Matt,
Indeed. I’ve argued the same myself for nuclear power stations.
I suppose an additional option is to get every site that could extract energy but refuses to do so to fund the entire green levy for the rest of the country. Same for sites that refuse a nuke.
They want green shit, they pay for it. We don’t, we don’t pay for it.
Could also cut off their grid connection and gas supply. They’ve got energy they refuse to extract, they’ve no business consuming ours. Just until we’ve got enough for everybody, of course, at a suitably negligible price.
Lift the ban on fracking…
if “local communities” don’t object.
So no fracking, then.
That really pisses me off. The people of Portland (Dorset) don’t get a veto on a waste incinerator, for example. We have a planning process, which should be exploded) and when that’s exhausted that’s it.
“…if “local communities” don’t object…”
Wasn’t that Rishi’s poison pill?
“local communities” will always object if all they hear about is the costs. Even if it’s just net zero lies, or the claimed “massive disruption from construction and huge lorries thundering through their village morning noon and night”.
But add in a benefit or two, like the ultra-cheap gas tariff suggested above, or maybe a chunk of the extraction tax going to pay for local (ie parish, not county) amenities (decided by locals) or reducing council tax rates, and more might get built.
For many years prospective housing developers have had to make a proportion of the units available at subsidised prices for locals. No-one objects, generally it’s seen as a good thing. A comparable policy to require the provision of cheaper energy to locals should be a no-brainier.
The paraphrase the Scot Nats from the the last century “it’s their (fracking) gas”.
Will the drilling companies go ahead and drill? They’ve been shafted once with a change of regime to reduce allowable tremors to disturbing the water in a teacup, how do they make sure the green blob won’t sit on the government to change the rules once the “temporary” gas crisis is over?
The greens are hypocritical or ignorant, possibly both, with a bit of Russian conspiracy mixed in. Transporting gas is costly. There are 28 compressor stations between Yamal and Frankfurt, all using gas as fuel. LNG consumes about 20% of the product in liquefaction and regasification. So producing gas close to the consumer network is much more efficient and “green”.
But they won’t see it that way. Hordes of long distance crusties, including the honorary Russian ambassador resident in Hollywood, will descend on any drill site and cause trouble.
Villagers near a waste incinerator or landfill already see far more HGV traffic than a fracking site will have at the brief peak requirement.
As the French say, you don’t consult the frogs before draining the marsh. Time to drain the swamp. Sod even the locals.
‘…Sod even the locals…’
Be fair. Most of the noisies that show up to protest have travelled too far to count as locals. And Plod makes sure that genuine locals don’t get to express their opinions.
A small gas well has been sunk near the village where I live, no fracking involved as far as I’m aware. Lots of the locals had posters in their front gardens bearing the legend “Green Fields Not Gas Fields”. Many of them use gas of course. Anyway, it seems that the Nimbys and Bananas were ignored and the gas well built anyway.
“For many years prospective housing developers have had to make a proportion of the units available at subsidised prices for locals. No-one objects, generally it’s seen as a good thing.”
It isn’t, it’s fucking extortion. “You need us [local council] to sign your piece of paper, eh? How’s about you give us a large chunk of cash/property/free building work?”
I might add, just because developers consistently pay these bribes does not make it good or right. I might pay an urchin a quid not to scratch my car when I park it in South London, but that doesn’t make it any less blackmail.
Ms Truss also said she would lift the ban on fracking
It’s worthless, so many caveats ‘local support’, ‘pay (bribe) locals’…
I thought jobs for locals and lower prices for all was a benefit, seems not
Plus she’s endorsed 2050 net zero
Trump for PM
NSW and Victoria have banned fracking.
Naturally they’re screaming that the wicked Queenslanders are selling gas overseas that should go to them.