Greater Manchester says no to fracking despite new PM Liz Truss overturning ban
manchestereveningnews.co.ukCampaigners and politicians in Greater Manchester have reacted with anger after Liz Truss announced she was to allow fracking to return to the UK.
The PM has scrapped a 2019 ban on the fossil fuel extraction process as part of a wider energy bills strategy. It could see domestic shale gas production begin in as little as six months, but Ms Truss has faced heavy criticism from opponents who have long warned that fracking can cause earthquakes, water contamination, noise and traffic pollution.
The PM told MPs that fracking would only go ahead in areas where there was local support for it. But Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the move was a 'backwards step'. Read more:Manchester street named among coolest in the whole world alongside Berlin, Miami, Copenhagen He added: "Fracking won't deliver energy any time soon.
You're talking years before that gas starts to flow and when it does we're supposed be going towards net zero, so it's taking us in a backwards direction. "The quickest way and the cheapest way of getting new energy sources is on-shore wind and the question you need to ask is why is the Conservative Party putting restrictions on on-shore wind, but not on fracking.
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