Election manifesto pledges on fracking
The five major political parties in England have now all published their election manifesto pledges for the upcoming general election on 7 May 2015. Here’s a run down on what they’ve all said on shale gas and fracking.
The Conservative Party, perhaps not unexpectedly, exhibited the most support for continued shale gas development along with UKIP.
At the other end of the political spectrum, the Green Party is the only one to reject shale gas in its manifesto.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrat manifesto pledges, whilst perhaps not as overtly supportive as the Conservatives or UKIP, are nonetheless clear about the need for and benefits of shale gas as part of the UK energy mix.
Here’s a summary of what they actually said:
What are the polls telling us we can expect?
According to the latest opinion polls from ICM, YouGov and Populus, it’s clear that no party will win the next election with an overall majority based on stated voting intentions, and so we’re likely to see another coalition government in a few weeks time.
It’s obvious that the Conservatives and the Labour Party are going to poll the most votes at the ballot box. These two political parties would make for strange bedfellows, and would make an unlikely coalition. If they win the popular vote, it’s far more likely that we’ll see the Conservatives form a continued alliance with the Liberal Democrats or a new coalition with UKIP. If Labour poll more votes, then it’s feasible that they might consider a coalition with the Liberal Democrats or perhaps the SNP, as has been widely mooted in the press of late.
Whatever the outcome, it’s highly unlikely that the Green Party will feature in the next government and so there will be no overriding moves to ban shale gas extraction.
How does the party line on fracking affect your voting intentions?
It’s now just a matter of weeks before we go to the polls. Does the party stance on fracking affect your support? Based on the manifesto pledges we’ve seen, how do you think you’ll vote? Might you decide to vote tactically, or register a protest vote by casting your ballot in favour of the Green Party in order to try and force a fracking ban?
Take our quick poll and let us know!