UK: Tory MPs mull backing Labour attempt to force binding fracking vote
Source: The Guardian
Tory MPs mull backing Labour attempt to force binding fracking vote
Opposition motion drafted to make it very difficult for government to ignore or allow mass abstentions
Jessica Elgot
@jessicaelgot
Tue 18 Oct 2022 22.30 BST
Last modified on Tue 18 Oct 2022 22.54 BST
Labour will attempt to force a binding vote on fracking on Wednesday, as Tory MPs mull backing a bid which would allow the opposition to put down a bill banning shale gas extraction.
The motion submitted by Labour for its opposition day debate is drafted to make it very difficult for the government to ignore the vote or allow mass abstentions.
Liz Truss, who pledged to lift the moratorium on shale gas extraction during her leadership campaign, is already facing a wall of opposition from Conservative backbenchers. Dozens of MPs have written to the business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to express their opposition and raise concerns about the procedure for public consent.
Labour will attempt to exploit the divisions with a debate to guarantee parliamentary time for a bill to ban fracking. The binding motion will make it difficult for the government to abstain – which it routinely does in order to ignore opposition day motions.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/18/tory-mps-mull-backing-labour-attempt-to-force-binding-fracking-vote